Trump calls Iranians ‘lying scum,’ and declares MOU over

TRUMP’S ANGRY SCREED: In a sit-down appearance this morning with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the NATO summit in Ankara, President Donald Trump let loose a litany of complaints fit for Festivus about the failures of the alliance, freeloading member nations, and his desire for Greenland, while saving his strongest denunciation for the perfidy of Iran.Trump’s tirade came hours after the U.S. Central Command announced “a new round of offensive strikes,” in which U.S. warplanes and missiles hit over 80 targets, including more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats, in response to Iran’s attacks on three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz via the southern route along the Omani coast.“We attacked very powerfully last night the very dangerous people from Iran,” Trump said, saying the U.S. hit back 20 times harder. “I told him, ‘every time you hit, we hit.’”

“They’re sick, There’s something wrong with them,” Trump said, “We said ‘you should go and do your funeral stuff,’ and instead of that they start shooting rockets at ships yesterday.” He then called Iran’s new leaders, who Trump previously insisted were more reasonable than the old regime, “scum.” “They’re scum so we don’t like ‘em. I don’t like them and they’re evil people,” Trump said. “They’re bad people, very bad people. I think they’re incompetent, by the way, because if they were competent they would have made a deal a long time ago — like how about 47 years ago?”US SAYS IT DESTROYED OVER 60 IRANIAN BOATS AFTER COMMERCIAL SHIPS TARGETED IN STRAIT OF HORMUZTHE MOU IS ‘DEAD’: Trump took only a few questions during the sit-down, and the first one shouted was, “Is the ceasefire over? Is the MOU dead?” to which Trump replied, “That’s a very interesting question,” as though he hadn’t quite considered it before. After a pause he said, “To me, I think it’s over.” “I don’t want to deal with them. They’re scum. You know what scum is? They’re scum. They’re sick people. They’re led by sick people. They’re vicious, violent people, and if they had a nuclear weapon they’d use it.”“As far as I’m concerned, it’s over,” Trump said, stopping short of ending the negotiations that were scheduled to continue into mid-August. “I’ll speak to our negotiators. They want to negotiate. They’re good people — Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner — but they have to come back to me, and as far as I’m concerned it’s just a waste of time dealing with them.”“They’re liars,” he continued. “We make a deal, they go outside, talk to the press, they say ‘We never even talked about it.’ There’s something wrong with them. They’re cuckoo. So as far as I’m concerned, it’s over.”US RESCINDS OIL WAIVERS FOR IRAN AFTER SHIPS ATTACKED IN STRAIT OF HORMUZTRUMP: ‘I’M NOT HAPPY WITH NATO’: Rutte sat and listened politely as Trump ripped NATO allies for remaining on the sidelines as the US and Israel attacked Iran. “I’m not happy with NATO because of what they did with Greenland and I’m not happy with NATO because of the fact that they didn’t want to help us with the number one state sponsor of terror — that’s Iran,” Trump said as he went into a long screed in which he portrayed the U.S. defense budget as money that was spent on NATO.“We spent over a trillion dollars over the last short period, a trillion in order to protect these countries from Russia and it has nothing to do with us. We have an ocean,” Trump said, in the latest affirmation that he does not believe the U.S. should be on the hook for the defense of Europe. “They were unwilling to help us… We didn’t need help, but I was really testing. I wanted to see whether or not they’d be there and the answer is they weren’t.” Trump leveled his harshest criticism on Spain which he called a “waste.” “Spain is a wasted cause, and we don’t want to do any trade business with Spain any more,” Trump said. “They don’t participate. They don’t pay. I don’t want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, please.”In response, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s office said that Spain “maintains an excellent social, cultural, and economic relationship with the US, and we have no intention of seeing that change,” according to the Associated Press.Rutte employed his usual tactic of praising Trump and the savior of NATO, crediting him with single-handedly forcing the member nations to meet their domestic spending commitments and increase alliance spending by more than more than $1.2 trillion during his two terms as president. “I call it the Trump Trillion,” Rutte enthused.Rutte also tried to explain that more that 5,000 U.S. planes used NATO bases during the 39 days of Epic Fury, but Trump was having none of it, instead complaining about the U.K. initially denying the U.S. the use of its base in Diego Garcia. Still, Trump did declare that Rutte was “a great leader” and NATO’s “biggest asset.”“They’re lucky they have him,” Trump said. NATO’S RUTTE UNVEILS BILLIONS OF DEFENSE CONTRACTS: COUNTER-DRONE TECH, SPACE CAPABILITIES, AND MOREGood Wednesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Keely Bastow. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP OR READ BACK ISSUES OF DAILY ON DEFENSEHAPPENING TODAY: TRUMP SPEAKS AGAIN: Trump said he would be delivering his message of dissatisfaction directly to NATO leaders at a closed door session, but he has a post-summit press conference set for 9:15 a.m. ET, where he will no doubt be asked about what’s next, and if negotiations with Iran are a waste of time.Rutte holds his closing press conference at 8 a.m. ET, which will be streamed live on the NATO website.TRUMP STILL SMARTING ABOUT GREENLAND: At his joint appearance with Rutte this morning Trump made clear that he is not happy with the deal he made at Davos earlier this year, which would allow the U.S. to greatly expand its military presence on the strategic island, but Greenland would keep it sovereignty as a territory of Denmark.“Greenland is very important for the United States, but it’s not important for Denmark,” Trump grumped. “In fact when Denmark was overrun by the Nazis in less than one day — Hitler beat them out in one day took over — they asked us to take care of Greenland. In fact we took Greenland and then stupidly we gave it back. “We shouldn’t have given it back to them because we’re the ones that need it. We need it for protection of the world, not just the United States.”Rutte, who brokered the compromise that defused the crisis in January, tried to reassure Trump that the U.S. would get all the access it needs under the Davos deal and that Golden Dome could be deployed there. However, Trump made clear he still wants Greenland to be U.S. territory. “We’re having the big meeting in a little while and I’m gonna relate my problems with Greenland,” Trump said.”Greenland is a big problem for us.”Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen once again rebuffed Trump, saying once again “Greenland is of course not for sale.”THINK TRUMP IS OVER GREENLAND? THINK AGAIN!ZELENSKY: LET US MAKE PATRIOTS: Trump is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is making a fresh appeal for Ukraine to be admitted into NATO, but whose immediate priority is obtaining more Patriot missile interceptors, and the right to produce the scarce missile under licence from the the U.S.“We all value the Patriot system. It’s an excellent — an excellent system, and there are others as well, but today’s wars have shown that current Patriot production is not enough to meet the growing demand for protection against ballistic missiles,” Zelensky said in a speech at the summit yesterday. “That is a fact, and we must respond to that fact.’“Those who defend life need more Patriots,” Zelensky said. “We have also discussed Patriot production licenses with our American partners, and I ask you to support our efforts to make this happen.”“I want to emphasize this: Unlike Putin, we are not fighting this war for pleasure or for geopolitics. Russia brought this war to Ukraine, and it’s killing our people. It wants to destroy our independence and we are only defending,” Zelensky said. “From the first day of this war we are defending ourselves, and we are raising the cost of this war for Russia, and by doing so, increasing the chances for peace. “TRUMP SAYS HE IS CONSIDERING SELLING F-35 JETS TO TURKEY DURING NATO SUMMITTHE RUNDOWN: Washington Examiner: US says it destroyed over 60 Iranian boats after commercial ships targeted in Strait of HormuzWashington Examiner: US rescinds oil waivers for Iran after ships attacked in Strait of HormuzWashington Examiner: NATO’s Rutte unveils billions of defense contracts: Counter-drone tech, space capabilities, and moreWashington Examiner: Trump signals disappointment with NATO while touting relationship with TurkeyWashington Examiner: Trump says he’s dropping US sanctions on TurkeyWashington Examiner: Trump says he is considering selling F-35 jets to Turkey during NATO summitWashington Examiner: Unmanned tanks, planes, battleships, and more: Former Air Force secretary dives into the future of warWashington Examiner: Republicans spar over location of next international sessionWashington Examiner: Netanyahu’s Cabinet calls High Court a ‘judicial mafia’ and ‘gang of dictators’Washington Examiner: Nigel Farage to resign, run again for Parliament in ‘people vs. the establishment’ by-electionWashington Examiner: Army imposes new health requirements in Hegseth fitness pushWashington Examiner: Woman suspected in Monaco bombing found shot dead in UkraineWashington Examiner: Opinion: Foreign militaries celebrate America, underlining importance of alliancesNew York Times: Oil Prices Jump and Stocks Drop After Trump Says Iran Deal Is ‘Over’AP: Danish prime minister vows to defend Greenland at NATO summit after Trump renews demandNew York Times: Ukraine Remade Air Defense, but Russia Has Changed Its AttacksNBC News: Warren presses Pentagon and seven AI companies to disclose military AI contractsWall Street Journal: Raytheon, NATO Move to Build Advanced AMRAAM Missile Components in EuropeAir & Space Forces Magazine: Can Europe Fill NATO Airpower Gaps as US Pulls Back?Defense One: NATO Snubs Boeing, Picks Saab to Build Alliance’s Next Radar PlaneBreaking Defense: DIU Seeks Cheaper Drones to Carry Out Reaper MissionsDefense News: Eight NATO Allies Launch HALO Satellite Constellation InitiativeThe Hill: US Condemns China’s ICBM Test LaunchAir & Space Forces Magazine: Does the Space Force Need Its Own Lawyers? Senate Seeks AnswersDefenseScoop: GAO: Pentagon’s Hypersonic Programs Grappling with Schedule Constraints, Production WoesAir & Space Forces Magazine: GAO: T-7 Delays Push Full-Rate Production Decision Back Two Years\The War Zone: Poor B-52 Readiness Creating Testing Challenges for New AGM-181A Nuclear Cruise MissileAir & Space Forces Magazine: ACC Battle Lab Wants More Counter-Drone OptionsTHE CALENDAR: WEDNESDAY | JULY 8 8:45 a.m. 1201 15th St. NW— Defense Strategies Institute Defense Department Energy & Power Summit: “Unleashing American Energy Dominance to Advance Warfighter Readiness,” with Richard Kidd, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for environment and energy resilience; Rian Bahran, deputy assistant energy secretary for nuclear reactors; Nancy Balkus, deputy assistant Air Force secretary for infrastructure, energy and environment; and Jim Hartle, associate deputy assistant Air Force secretary for operational energy, safety and occupational healthhttps://power.dsigroup.org9 a.m. EDT Ankara, Turkey — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds press conference at conclusion of NATO Leaders Conferencehttps://www.nato.int/en/news-and-events 9 a.m. 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace “New Voices Conference for interns, students and young professionals, focusing on “future nuclear dangers” https://carnegieendowment.org/events/202610:15 am. EDT Ankara Turkey — President Donald Trump holds post-summit news conference before departing Ankara for Washington, D.C.THURSDAY | JULY 9 10 a.m. — Arab Center Washington D.C. virtual discussion: beginning at 10 a.m., on “Iraq in the Wake of the Iran War,” with Zahra Ali, associate professor, Rutgers University Department of Sociology and Anthropology; Lahib Higel, senior analyst for Iraq and interim deputy program director for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group; Renad Mansour, deputy director of Chatham House Middle East and North Africa Programme; Ahmed Tabaqchali, chief strategist for the Asia Frontier Capital Iraq Fund and senior fellow of American University of Iraq-Sulaimani Institute of Regional & International Studies; Tamara Kharroub, deputy executive director and senior fellow of the Arab Center Washington D.C.; and Joseph Sassoon, professor of history and political economy and chair in politics and political economy of the Arab world at Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register5 p.m. 1521 16th St. NW — Institute of World Politics discussion: “Iran at the Brink: War, Revolution, and the Future of the Middle East,” Emad Shargi, businessman, entrepreneur and writer https://www.iwp.edu/events/iran-at-the-brinkFRIDAY | JULY 10 10:30 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute discussion: “Taiwan’s Institutional Defense: Countering CCP Infiltration and Transnational Repression,” Kai-Chieh Hsu, National Security Court judge for the Taipei District Court; and Miles Yu, director, Hudson China Center https://www.hudson.org/events/taiwans-institutional-defenseTUESDAY | JULY 14 2 p.m. — Association of the U.S. Army and the Center for Strategic and International Studies Strategic Landpower Dialogue,” with Lt. Gen. Frank Lozano, portfolio acquisition executive for fires; Tom Karako, director, CSIS Missile Defense Project, and senior fellow, CSIS Defense and Security Department, retired Lt. Gen. Leslie Smith, AUSA vice president for leadership and education at AUSA https://www.csis.org/events/strategic-landpower-dialogue3 p.m. — Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology at Brookings virtual discussion: “The FY 2027 defense budget: How much is enough?” with Todd Harrison, senior fellow, American Enterprise Institute; Mara Karlin, visiting fellow, Brookings; David Wessel, senior fellow and director, Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Brookings; and Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow, and director, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, Brookings https://www.brookings.edu/events/the-fy-2027-defense-budget-how-much-is-enoughWEDNESDAY | JULY 15226 Dirksen — Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nomination of Todd Blanche to be attorney general.http://judiciary.senate.govTUESDAY | JULY 21 10:30 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Navigating Strategic Competition: Senator Tammy Duckworth on the Future of U.S. Indo-Pacific Engagement,” with Victor Cha, president, Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea Chair at CSIS; and Charles Edel, senior adviser and Australia Chair at CSIShttps://www.csis.org/events/navigating-strategic-competition4:30 p.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave. NW — American Enterprise Institute virtual discussion: “Subversion and Seduction: A Conversation About China Economic Statecraft with Audrye Wong,” with Robert Doar, president, AEI; and Audrye Wong, AEI senior fellow https://www.aei.org/events/subversion-and-seduction-a-conversationQUOTE OF THE DAY: “They’re a bunch of lying guys … They’re liars, they’re cheats, they’re sick people … They’re bad people and frankly I don’t want to waste my time with them now. I’ll let our wonderful negotiators keep talking if they want but I don’t see it. I don’t like these people.” President Donald Trump, speaking at the NATO Summit in Turkey, announcing the MOU with Iran is over, as far as he’s concerned.