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As violence appears to escalate once again between the U.S. and Iran this week amid what could be a breakdown of the ceasefire agreement, President Donald Trump said that one major thing changed his perspective about Iran.
“I got to know them,” he told a reporter at this week’s NATO summit in Turkey who specifically asked “what changed” regarding the president’s tone about Iran, which has arguably shifted from a more hopeful tone to, this week, considerably more critical.
The president said on Wednesday that there were rational leaders within Iran, describing them as “level three” individuals, because the first two layers of leadership, presumably, were terminated by U.S. or Israeli strikes.
“They are more rational,” he said. “But, based on their actions, over the last week or two, they’re not doing a service to the people, and I think more than anything else is, I got to know them, and I’m not sure I want to make a deal with them. We can play games, but I’m not sure I want to make a deal. Let’s just finish the job.”
Prior to these comments, President Trump told the press of the ceasefire with Iran, “To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore. They’re scum…they’re sick people. They’re led by sick people.”
He also said of the U.S. negotiators, “they’re good people,” but “as far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with [Iran].”
Military strikes resumed against Iran this week, according to the U.S. Central Command, in response to reported Iranian aggression against civilian vessels transiting in the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM said that U.S. forces hit over 80 targets on Tuesday, including Iranian air defense systems, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities, and over 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats.
The president criticized Iran for what he seemed to believe is duplicitous behavior, highlighting, as an illustration, the difference between Iranian leadership’s private comments to U.S. negotiators versus what the regime claims to the media.
“There’s something wrong with them, they’re cuckoo,” Trump said. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.”