The American President Donald Trump said that Iranian officials had contacted him by phone with a desperate plea for a deal. His statement came aboard Air Force One, hours after the United States revoked oil sanctions on Tehran and launched massive airstrikes on nearly 100 targets along the Iranian coast in response to attacks on merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
“They called me a while ago, they want to make a deal so badly“, Trump told reporters. “The problem is, I don't know if they're trustworthy and if they're going to honor the deal. They're a little out of control, but they want a deal – and loudly“.
The complete collapse of the ceasefire
Trump's words mark a dramatic turn in his rhetoric, after earlier in the day at the NATO summit in Ankara he categorically declared that the temporary ceasefire concluded in June was final “in history“ (over). At the time, the American leader called Iranian leaders “scum“ and “crazy people“ and called the continuation of indirect negotiations in Doha “a waste of time“.
According to information from CNN and Reuters, the situation as of 5:30 a.m. Bulgarian time on July 9 remains critical:
New wave of US attacks: The US attacked military infrastructure, command networks, radar stations and over 60 fast boats of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Local media in Iran reported explosions in the key port cities of Chabahar, Bushehr and Bandar Abbas. Critical infrastructure, including a railway bridge in northern Iran, was also hit. Iran's response: Iran's Revolutionary Guard immediately responded by firing missiles and drones at US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait. Air raid sirens sounded once again in both Gulf states, and Kuwaiti air defenses are engaged in intercepting targets. The Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant: Iran's Mehr news agency said that despite the explosions in the area, the country's only civilian nuclear power plant was not affected and there was no radiation leak.
Economic shocks and threats of "end of the regime"
Trump once again reminded Tehran of the enormous economic advantage of the United States, emphasizing that Iran's economy was collapsing under the weight of the renewed oil blockade. Earlier on July 7, Washington revoked a key exemption that allowed Iran to sell oil in dollars during the negotiations. In a statement from the Oval Office, the US president warned: “Either we make a deal or we finish what we started. We can destroy their power system and their bridges in an hour“.
For their part, the Iranian authorities are demonstrating official defiance. The speaker of the parliament in Tehran, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, wrote on the social network X that “the era of blackmail is over“ and that Iran will not give in to pressure. Tehran is threatening to completely close the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world's oil flows.
Markets react quickly
The escalation immediately reflected on the global economy. The price of Brent crude oil jumped by more than 5%, exceeding $78 per barrel. On Wall Street, major indexes such as the S&P 500 and Dow Jones registered sharp declines as investors worried about a return to high inflation caused by the renewal of the full-scale conflict in the Gulf.
The situation remains dynamic, with analysts noting that despite aggressive military strikes, both sides are leaving the back door open for emergency diplomatic shuttles to avoid a total regional catastrophe.