There are ceasefires and there are ceasefires that last 21 days before the president who signed them declares them over, calls Iran’s leadership “scum,” and floats taking over their primary oil export island from the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, and the Iran MOU signed at Versailles on June 17 is the second kind.
“They’re scum,” Trump told reporters Wednesday at the NATO summit hosted by Turkish President Erdogan at the Bestepe Presidential Compound. “They’re sick people. They’re led by sick people. They’re vicious, violent people, and if they had a nuclear weapon they’d use it.” He added: “As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.” The ceasefire was, as of this morning, 21 days old. The 60-day roadmap has 39 days remaining. Trump declared it over on day 21, which is the kind of rounding that is technically ahead of schedule.
The immediate trigger, per Fox News, was Iran’s resumed attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, including a strike on a Qatari LNG tanker, the Al Rekayyat, which sent out distress signals after being hit on its port side and whose engine room was on fire. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre reported a second tanker struck by an “unidentified projectile” near Limah, Oman. U.S. Central Command responded Tuesday night with strikes on more than 80 Iranian targets, including more than 60 Iranian small boats. Trump announced Wednesday morning that U.S. forces had “knocked out 28 boats last night. Little ones. That’s all they have is little ones.”
Trump then floated seizing Kharg Island, Iran’s primary oil export facility, which handles roughly 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports. “We attacked Kharg Island last night. We knocked out a piece,” he said. “I said, don’t touch the oil because maybe we’ll take over Kharg Island. You know, we may take over Kharg Island. It’s not a thing they can do about it.” He then confirmed he had instructed military officials not to damage the oil infrastructure specifically, because they might want it later.
He also confirmed plans to discuss continued strikes: “Will we go tonight? You know, normally I wouldn’t tell you. I wouldn’t tell you. But you know what?” Per the Washington Examiner, he then said yes. He told reporters he was going to strike Iran again tonight, from the NATO summit, in front of cameras, in a sentence he started by noting he normally would not share this. Iran’s advisor Mohsen Rezaei told reporters simultaneously: “Trump intends to attack again, and we are fully prepared.”
When the president declares a ceasefire over, floats annexing a country’s oil island, and tells reporters about tonight’s planned strikes while noting he normally keeps this secret, what exactly is the strategy?
Sources
Fox News: Trump says Iran ceasefire is over: ‘They’re scum. They’re sick people’
Fox News live: Iran war, NATO summit July 8
Washington Examiner: Trump says Iran ceasefire is over, ‘sick people’
Breitbart: Trump declares ceasefire with ‘Cuckooo’ Iran is over
