United States President Donald Trump says the ceasefire with Iran is “over”, describing Iranian leaders as “sick people” after Iran and the US exchanged military attacks.Trump made the comments from the NATO summit in the Turkish capital of Ankara, about three weeks after the US and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cease fighting, lift the US naval blockade of Iran, and open the strait of Hormuz.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Ships attacked in the Strait of Hormuz: What that means for ongoing talkslist 2 of 3US strikes southern Iran, Tehran claims counterattacks on military siteslist 3 of 3US strikes Iran despite promised pause for Khamenei funeralend of listThat agreement served as a launch point for 60 days of talks on more intractable issues, including the future of Iran’s nuclear programme, future administration of the Strait of Hormuz, and access to billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds.“I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them any more, they’re scum,” Trump said on Wednesday.“They’re scum, they’re sick people, they’re led by sick people, and they’re vicious, violent people. And if they had a nuclear weapon, they’d use it.”Despite saying the truce was “over”, Trump also said US negotiators would be allowed to continue talks with their Iranian counterparts.“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,” Trump said.The US president’s comments come after the US and Iranian forces exchanged attacks in the Gulf.US Central Command said it launched “powerful strikes” against more than 80 “targets” after Iranian attacks on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz, an arterial waterway through which about 20 percent of the world’s daily oil trade transited prior to the war, which the US and Israel launched on February 28.The latest US attacks came hours after the US Treasury said it revoked a sanctions waiver allowing sales of Iranian crude oil.Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said its forces responded by attacking 85 US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait.Speaking at a separate NATO event on Wednesday, Trump also re-upped a laundry list of past threats against Iran.He said the US will “probably” launch more strikes on Iran tonight. He said the US could reinstate its naval blockade on Iran. He said the US could target electricity and water plants in Iran, attacks international law experts say constitute war crimes. He added that US forces “may take over” Iran’s Kharg Island, a prospect that would all-but-assuredly require boots on the ground.Sitting next to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he again cast doubts on diplomacy.“If we make a deal with Iran, I’m not sure that will stick, because I found them to be very dishonourable people,” Trump said.Reporting from Ankara, Al Jazeera’s James Bays said Trump’s rhetoric marks a stark departure from a few weeks ago, when he delivered “somewhat complimentary” remarks about the Iranian leadership.Bays says the question is whether “this [is] just tough talk from Trump … or does this mean he is really tearing up the Memorandum of Understanding [MoU] that was agreed on about three weeks ago?”GCC slams attacks on Gulf statesThe Gulf Cooperation Council condemned the Iranian attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait, describing them as a flagrant violation of the two countries’ sovereignty and a continuation of Tehran’s efforts to undermine regional peace efforts.In a statement, Secretary-General Mohamed AlBudaiwi said the strikes represented a direct threat to the safety of citizens and residents and a grave breach of international law and the United Nations Charter.“The attacks confirm Iran’s continued approach aimed at undermining international and regional efforts to establish security and peace and resolve the crisis,” said AlBudaiwi.Reporting from Doha, Al Jazeera’s Malik Traina said he believes “we’ll see a measured approach from the Gulf countries” following these latest US and Iranian attacks as “nobody here in the Gulf wants to see a resumption of hostilities.“I think there’s going to be a diplomatic push from across the Gulf to bring Iran and the US back to the negotiating table. Nobody wants to see a breakdown of this ceasefire, or the MoU,” he said.Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar Atas said Trump’s remarks “will definitely have repercussions in Tehran”.Following its attacks on the two Gulf countries, Iran’s IRGC said “in the coming days, they are going to retaliate in a harsher way,” said Serdar Atas.While the Iranian leadership has accused the US of violating several articles of the MoU, “[neither side has] said that it’s over yet”, said Serdar Atas.The latest flare-up comes after a promised pause in US attacks as Iran holds funeral processions for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint US and Israeli strikes at the start of the war on February 28.US war critics, supporters reactIn the US, top critics of Trump’s war said the latest comments underscored the gargantuan task of disengaging from the conflict.While the MoU bolstered hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough, Washington and Tehran have made little progress in addressing the more fundamental issues of the conflict.For example, Trump on Wednesday again said Washington’s top goal was “de-nuclearisation” of Iran. Tehran has rejected abandoning its civilian nuclear programme.The MoU only contains a repeat of Iran’s years-long claim that it was not seeking a nuclear weapon, while committing to “maintain the current status quo of its nuclear programme” during the negotiating period.In a post on X, US Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, accused Trump of botching the talks.“The negotiations are a ‘waste of time’ because Trump’s negotiators change by the day. So do his goals and demands,” Murphy wrote.“It’s all gross incompetence that is costing American taxpayers and consumers billions.”US House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries said the latest updates showed that “Donald Trump’s reckless war of choice in Iran has been a disaster”.Some Iran hawks cheered Trump’s comments, including Mark Dubowitz, the CEO of the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, a pro-Israel think tank that has long supported a militaristic approach towards Tehran.“President Trump is exactly right: the Islamic Republic is evil — and negotiating with them is a waste of time,” he said.