'Ceasefire with Iran over, talks to continue': US President Trump makes big statement as peace deal in trouble
US President Donald Trump announces that while Washington will continue diplomatic talks with Iran, the fragile ceasefire between the two nations is officially over.
Donald Trump has warned of fresh attacks on Iran. File Image
New Delhi: US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the United States has agreed to maintain diplomatic talks with Iran, despite officially declaring the end of a recently negotiated ceasefire. The decision follows a sharp escalation in military strikes that shattered the fragile truce between the two nations. While diplomatic channels remain open, the collapse of the ceasefire framework underscores deepening tensions and threatens to derail a broader peace process that had only just begun to take shape.
The sudden unraveling of the truce comes after days of intensifying hostilities, reversing progress made just last month. According to The Washington Post, the initial agreement was intended to halt active fighting and establish a 60-day window to negotiate a comprehensive peace accord. Instead, the resurgence of military actions has dismantled that framework, leaving the future of regional stability highly uncertain even as both sides agree to keep talking.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue 'talks.' We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The New York Times reported that US forces struck more than 170 Iranian military targets on Tuesday and Wednesday. It described the operation as one of the most intense rounds of American attacks since the war began more than four months ago. The targets included air defence systems, drone and missile storage sites and military speedboats along Iran's southern coast near the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Times.
The newspaper also reported that US forces appeared to strike a railway bridge in northeastern Iran, more than 700 miles from the strait. Iran responded by firing at US military bases in Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, the Times reported. Jordan said it had also intercepted Iranian attacks. The latest exchanges followed attacks on commercial vessels near the Strait of Hormuz.
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The waterway has become a central point of tension in the conflict because of its importance to global oil and shipping routes. CNN reported that Qatari negotiators had travelled to Iran to meet officials and try to create conditions for US-Iran talks to resume.
(With inputs from agencies)
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