US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that although the previous ceasefire agreement with Iran has formally ended, Washington is prepared in principle to continue diplomatic talks at Tehran’s request.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, “Iran has requested that ongoing diplomatic discussions with us continue. We have responded to that request and have agreed in principle to continue the talks. At the same time, the United States has clearly informed Tehran, without any concealment, that the previous ceasefire agreement between the two countries is now completely over.”
Two days earlier, Trump had announced that the ceasefire agreement with Iran had officially ended.
Earlier, on Wednesday, 8 June, on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, Trump told journalists that the ceasefire agreement signed between the two countries on 8 April was no longer in effect. He also criticised Iran’s top leadership, saying, “They have some problems. They are sick. Bad people.”
At that time, Trump also said that if Iran wanted to escape the crisis, it would have to return to the negotiating table and accept new conditions.
On 8 April, the United States and Iran signed an initial two-week ceasefire agreement through Pakistan’s mediation. However, only a few days later, on 21 April, Trump said he did not want to extend the two-week ceasefire under any circumstances.
Despite the agreement, low-level clashes and covert attacks between the two countries had continued repeatedly over the past three months.
This week, the confrontation took a new turn. Iran launched a series of missile attacks targeting international commercial ships in the Persian Gulf. In response, Washington carried out extensive air strikes and bombings on multiple military bases, including the perimeter of the Bushehr nuclear facility on the Iranian mainland.
In retaliation, Iran launched long-range drones and ballistic missiles targeting US military bases in several Middle Eastern countries, including Jordan.