Oil prices surged Wednesday after President Donald Trump declared the Iran ceasefire dead and warned that another round of U.S. strikes could be coming within hours.
Trump unloaded on Tehran during an event at the NATO summit in Turkey, saying he was done dealing with Iran after its forces opened fire on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
‘To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore,’ Trump said during an event at the NATO summit in Turkey on Wednesday.
‘They’re scum, they’re sick people, they’re led by sick people, and they’re vicious, violent people.’
U.S. Central Command said American forces struck more than 80 targets in Iran as ‘punishment’ for attacks on three commercial tankers moving through the strategic waterway.
Iran responded with strikes targeting Bahrain and Kuwait, pushing the region closer to a wider war and sending energy markets into a fresh panic.
Trump later doubled down, saying the ceasefire was finished and that he was preparing a new wave of strikes against Iran on Wednesday evening.
‘We hit them very hard last night … probably hit them hard again tonight. I’ll give a little warning, we’re going to hit them hard tonight,’ the President said.
Trump also said he is considering reinstating the blockade on Iran.
Oil prices spiked overnight, with global benchmark Brent crude reaching $78.39 per barrel, its highest level since June 19.
BREAKING: Brent crude oil prices surge above $76/barrel after the US revokes Iran’s general license to export oil in response to Iran striking three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. pic.twitter.com/zTH55IWNw4
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) July 7, 2026
U.S. markets also slipped after Trump declared the memorandum of understanding with Iran was over.
Futures for the Nasdaq, Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were all down about 1 point in Wednesday premarket trading.
Still, Trump said his negotiators believe a peace agreement could possibly be salvaged, even as he made clear his patience with Tehran has run out.
‘I’ll speak to our negotiators. They want to negotiate, they’re good people… but they have to come back to me,’ the President said.
As for the Iranians, Trump added, ‘As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with them.’
CENTCOM said Wednesday that the latest strikes hit Iranian military assets tied to attacks on commercial shipping.
CENTCOM said on Wednesday: ‘Forces completed a new round of offensive strikes against Iran, July 7, hitting over 80 targets with precision munitions as an immediate response to Iran’s latest attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
‘US forces struck Iranian air defense systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities, and more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats in and near the strait.’
The U.S. identified the targeted vessels as the Marshall Islands-flagged M/T Al Rekayyat, the Saudi Arabia-flagged M/T Wedyan and the Liberian-flagged M/T Cyprus Prosperity.
Trump was blunt about whether he still trusts Tehran.
‘As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with them. They’re liars,’ Trump said. ‘They’re cuckoo.’
The president said he initially expected Iran to remain quiet while the country held six days of mourning for late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28.
‘We said, ‘Go and do your funeral stuff,’ and instead of that, they start shooting rockets at ships,’ Trump remarked.
‘Can you imagine they start shooting bombs, actually missiles at ships yesterday, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, couple of others,’ he added.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, seated next to Trump as he ripped Iran’s leadership, backed the U.S. strikes.
‘I think what you did last night was absolutely necessary,’ Rutte told Trump. ‘It was a very strong response.’
Rutte has been trying to repair relations between the White House and NATO after Donald Trump repeatedly criticized allies for not doing enough to support U.S. forces in the early days of the Iran war.
The NATO chief said there were only ‘isolated cases’ of allied nations refusing to support the U.S.
‘I would say these are isolated cases,’ Rutte said, adding that 5,000 planes took off from European airports in support of Operation Epic Fury.’
‘Europe is one big platform of power projection for the United States,’ Rutte added.
The Strait of Hormuz remains the pressure point.
Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas moves through the channel in peacetime, making every Iranian threat there a direct hit to global energy markets.
Iran has used its ability to choke the waterway as leverage since the U.S. and Israel opened the war on Feb. 28.
Now, with the ceasefire unraveling and Trump warning of more strikes, oil markets are reacting exactly as expected.
When Iran plays games in Hormuz, drivers everywhere eventually feel it at the pump.
