Trump warns of more strikes on Iran as ceasefire collapses

Trump escalated the confrontation with Iran at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, saying the United States would likely “hit them hard again tonight” and dismissing talks as “a waste of time.” CBS News also reported that Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was “over,” a sharp turn that pushed the crisis from fragile pause to open-ended military pressure.

The warning landed after an exchange of strikes that already drew in U.S. forces and Iranian retaliation. Reuters-covered accounts said Iran hit U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait after earlier U.S. strikes on Iranian targets, part of a cycle that followed Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. With Trump signaling he did not want to keep dealing with Tehran, the immediate risk shifted toward another round of launches and counterstrikes that could reach U.S. installations across the Gulf.

Markets moved quickly. CBS News reported that oil prices rose about 5% after Trump said the negotiations were over, underscoring how exposed energy traders remain to any disruption around the Strait of Hormuz. That chokepoint has already sat at the center of the escalation, and another American strike would raise the odds of renewed attacks on shipping, infrastructure and regional bases.

The diplomatic damage was just as immediate. CBS had reported that indirect U.S.-Iran talks had recently resumed, including a rare face-to-face meeting in Switzerland, before the latest violence overtook the channel. Trump’s remarks effectively closed the door on that track for now, while NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte backed the U.S. strikes as necessary in response to Iran’s ceasefire violations, signaling allied tolerance for the military response even as the talks unraveled.

The confrontation also sits inside a larger campaign that has already been running for months. The White House said Operation Epic Fury began on February 28, 2026, and a Pentagon fact sheet said that by April 1 the operation had involved more than 12,300 targets struck, more than 13,000 combat flights and more than 155 Iranian vessels damaged or destroyed. Those figures point to a sustained air and maritime campaign, not a short burst of retaliation, and help explain why Trump’s latest warning drew immediate attention in Washington, where lawmakers are likely to face fresh pressure over the scope, duration and legal basis of further strikes.