U.S. President Donald Trump returns to Joint Base Andrews in Washington on July 9, 2026. (Win McNamee/Getty Images North America/Getty Images via AFP)
U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he had agreed to continue negotiations with Iran, even as he repeated his assertion that the cease-fire between the longtime foes was over.
While there have been no direct talks between Iran and the United States since last month, Iranian media reported that a delegation from mediator Qatar was in Tehran on Friday after the two sides exchanged strikes again this week.
It has been just over three weeks since Washington and Tehran signed an agreement aimed at turning a monthslong cease-fire into a durable peace, but a second consecutive day of exchanges on Thursday threatened a return to full-scale regional war.
"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 posted on his Truth Social platform Friday.
Earlier this week, at a NATO summit, Trump also declared the cease-fire over, but said of Tehran: "It's just a waste of time dealing with them."
He also called Iranian officials "scum" and "sick people."
U.S. and Iranian delegations have held one round of direct talks since signing their memorandum of understanding in Switzerland, as well as indirect negotiations in Qatar, but there has been no sign of diplomatic progress since.
Despite Iran saying it had launched attacks on U.S. assets in Qatar and the Gulf state accusing Tehran of attacking one of its tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, Doha appeared Friday to back continued diplomacy.
Iran's Tasnim news agency said the Qatari delegation was in Tehran to "try to reinforce Qatar's role as a mediator following events on Tuesday," when Doha condemned Tehran for what it called an "unacceptable assault" on one of its LNG tankers. Iran denied the accusation.
In a call with his Qatari counterpart Friday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called for a "return to the negotiating table."
Hormuz flashpoint
The war began when the United States and Israel launched a wave of surprise attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, despite ongoing diplomacy. The strikes killed much of Tehran's senior leadership, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran retaliated by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas, and launching strikes on Israel and U.S. interests across the Gulf.
The war also spilled into Lebanon after Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel, prompting an Israeli ground invasion.
The broader conflict was halted by a cease-fire agreement on April 8, but sporadic violence has continued since.
Most flare-ups have been sparked by disagreements over the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran insists it must have control over the waterway and has expressed a desire to charge transit fees.
It did not have those powers before the war. Although the strait comprises Omani and Iranian territorial waters, international law generally prohibits either country from blocking passage or charging tolls.
On Tuesday, the United States and Qatar accused Iran of targeting tankers in the strait, with Washington launching strikes on dozens of targets Wednesday and Thursday.
Iran said it retaliated by attacking U.S. bases across the Gulf, while Jordan said it intercepted missiles in its airspace.
Although there was no repeat of the previous day's strikes by early Friday evening in the Gulf, Iran reiterated its determination to retaliate if attacked.
"Any attack on infrastructure will be retaliated against, and the criminal Zionist regime responsible for these atrocities will not be safe from the response of our fighters," Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, head of Iran's top security body, said in a statement carried by state television.
Tehran on Thursday accused the United States of striking civilian targets, including railway bridges, calling the attacks a "gross war crime."
