President signals end to Iran negotiations after saying U.S. "hit them very hard"

The president said the United States "hit them very hard last night" in response to Iranian missile and ship activity, and said the strikes were meant to degrade Iran's military capabilities and prevent nuclear development. "We're gonna denuke it," he said, adding that Iranian leaders were "dangerous," "sick" and "scum."

The remarks came during an international summit press event in which the president praised recent meetings but used blunt language about Iran's actions and intentions. He characterized past Iranian operations as responsible for heavy casualties and cited the U.S. targeting of Qassem Soleimani, saying "I took care of him 1st term." He also said, attributing a protest-casualty figure to Iran, "They killed 54,000 people as of now that were protesting."

During a later question-and-answer exchange, a reporter asked whether a ceasefire or memorandum of understanding with Iran was "over." The president replied, "To me, I think it's over," and said he did not "wanna deal with them anymore," while noting that U.S. negotiators could continue if they chose to. He named negotiators present in the administration but said the decision rested with him and expressed distrust of Iranian statements: "They're liars. We make a deal ... they go outside, talk to the press, they say we never even talked about it."

The president framed the strikes as a proportionate response to what he described as Iranian attacks on ships and missiles directed at regional partners. He also linked the step to a broader goal of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. The president's language was emphatic and personal: he said he has been "number 1 on their list for years" and described his approach as to "cut out cancer early."

The president's casualty figures, descriptions of strikes and strategic claims were presented as his statements to reporters and are reported here as his assertions. The administration's official assessment, legal justification and detailed operational facts about the strikes were not provided in the transcript of this press event.

The session closed with the president saying negotiators could keep talking but restating his skepticism that talks would produce reliable results. The president said he would hold a news conference later in the day to address further developments.