US President Donald Trump has threatened to strike Iran "hard" within hours, warning of what he described as a potentially major military assault after declaring the ceasefire between the two nations effectively finished. Speaking on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Türkiye on Wednesday, Trump made the remarks while seated alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying the deal he had brokered with Tehran had become "a waste of time."
The dramatic escalation comes amid a rapidly deteriorating situation in the Persian Gulf region, with Iranian forces accused of breaching the truce by targeting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz — a move Trump described as a trigger for further US military action. For background on the broader conflict, see the 2026 Iran war.
Trump Signals Major Strike on Iranian Infrastructure
Addressing reporters at the NATO summit, Trump offered unusually specific warnings about targets the US military was prepared to hit. "It may be a big attack and it'll knock out a lot of stuff," he said. "I give them a little warning. We're going to hit them hard tonight."
Trump indicated that while the US was not yet striking at what he called the "highest level," a range of critical infrastructure remained on the table. He specifically mentioned electric power plants, desalination facilities and bridges as potential targets if Iran continued its current course.
"We'll take them out. I don't want to do that, but if we have to, we'll take them out," he said of power plants, adding that desalination facilities — which supply drinking water — were the targets he would "least like" to hit.
Trump also drew attention to Kharg Island, Iran's key oil export hub, saying US forces had already struck portions of the facility and may do so again. "I said, 'Don't touch the oil, because maybe we'll take over Kharg Island,'" he recalled telling the military. "Don't hit the pipes, just hit everything else."
Despite the severity of his rhetoric, Trump insisted the actions would not constitute a return to full-scale war. "I don't think the war is going to start again," he said. "I think it is going to go very quickly. They hit a couple of ships, and so we hit them much harder — when they hit, we hit ten times harder."
Ceasefire Collapses Amid Mutual Strikes Across the Gulf
The breakdown follows a series of exchanges that have rapidly dismantled the fragile truce. Trump declared the ceasefire over after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was accused of launching fresh attacks on commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz — a critical global shipping lane.
The US responded with strikes on IRGC vessels across the Persian Gulf, and explosions were subsequently reported in Iranian port cities including Bandar Abbas. Iran, in turn, launched retaliatory missile and drone attacks targeting US military assets in Kuwait and Bahrain.
Iran's state media cited a security source warning that each new American strike would be met with two Iranian responses, and that Tehran would once again move to close the Strait of Hormuz — a threat that would have significant consequences for global energy markets. The Hormuz crisis and its implications have already raised serious concerns internationally.
Trump's tone toward Iran's leadership sharpened markedly during the day. He described Iranian leaders as "evil, sick people" and "dirty players," calling the country's behaviour cancerous. "We have to rid their cancer," he said. "You know what you do? You've got to cut out cancer early." When pressed on why his language had grown so harsh — given he had previously described Iranian negotiators as reasonable — Trump offered a blunt reply: "I got to know them."
Diplomacy Hangs By a Thread Despite Talk of Peace
Even as Trump threatened fresh military action, he maintained that American negotiators would continue engaging with Iran in pursuit of a longer-term peace agreement. However, the prospects for any diplomatic resolution look increasingly dim.
Iran has consistently insisted it will not advance negotiations — including discussions over its nuclear programme and control of the Strait of Hormuz — until the existing interim deal is fully implemented. Central to that agreement is a demand that all fighting cease across all fronts, including in Lebanon, where Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah remains active.
Trump appeared to touch on the Lebanon dimension when he suggested Israel would "want" to withdraw its forces from the south of the country — a comment that may reflect diplomatic signalling or, as observers noted, could have been an offhand remark. Israel has so far shown little urgency in withdrawing, maintaining that Hezbollah continues to pose a credible threat.
With the ceasefire in tatters and both sides trading strikes, the window for a negotiated settlement appears to be narrowing rapidly. Trump's earlier agreement with Tehran — the memorandum of understanding he had touted as a breakthrough — now appears, by his own account, to be finished. "It's a waste of time dealing with them," he said flatly.
