An interim agreement to end the war with Iran is "over", US President Donald Trump says, after Tehran carried out new attacks on US bases in the Gulf.
In a flare-up of hostilities that pushed oil prices up to a two-week high, Iran said it had targeted US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait after US forces struck Iranian targets in response to attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
The attacks further undermined efforts to turn the interim ceasefire agreement that was reached in June into a permanent peace deal to end the war, which began with US-Israeli air strikes on Iran on February 28.
Asked before a NATO summit in Turkey whether the memorandum of understanding reached in June was over, Trump said: "It's a very interesting question. To me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them."
"They're scum. They're sick people. They're led by sick people," he told reporters in Ankara on Wednesday.
"As far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them."