Iran Warns It Has 'Finger On The Trigger' After Trump's Ceasefire Remarks

The conflict between Iran and the United States has flared up again, with US President Donald Trump saying the temporary agreement designed to stop the war with Tehran is basically dead. In response, senior Iranian official Ali Akbar Velayati criticized Washington for sowing instability in the Gulf, threatening Iran with a response if it continued to be provoked.

Iran Says US Has Pushed Region Back Towards Conflict

Ali Akbar Velayati, senior advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader, blasted Trump's comments, saying the U.S. president's withdrawal from the agreement between the two nations had put the Gulf region back on the verge of war.

In a post on X, Velayati said Trump's "verbal admission" of cancelling the US-Iran memorandum of understanding had "driven the region towards fire."

He also cautioned regional players against actions that could worsen the crisis, writing, "We had previously warned that the region is not a place for the political gambling of small countries, and we have repeatedly proven that adventures are met with an immediate response."

Velayati Warns Iran Is Ready to Respond

The Iranian leader's adviser made another stern warning, stating Tehran was ready for any further escalation.

Iran, however, "had its finger on the trigger" and would not be "silent against humiliation and adventurism," Velayati said, indicating that Iran was prepared to strike if it saw its interests were at stake.

His remarks coincided with a renewed military showdown between Tehran and the US in the region which raised fresh fears about security in the Gulf.

Trump Says Agreement With Iran Is Finished

The interim agreement that was supposed to stop the conflict with Iran was over, President Donald Trump announced earlier on Wednesday after Tehran staged new attacks on US military bases in the Persian Gulf.

Trump was asked before he arrived in Turkey for NATO leaders' summit whether the memorandum of understanding agreed to last month remains in effect.

He replied, "It's a very interesting question. To me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them."

Trump also launched a scathing attack on Iran's leadership, saying, "They're scum. They're sick people. They're led by sick people. As far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them."

Fresh Military Strikes Raise Regional Concerns

The new deal came after Iran's attacks on American military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait. Iran said the strikes were in response to U.S. military attacks on Iranian targets for retaliation against attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

The renewed fighting, which followed a previous one in October, drove oil prices to their highest level in two weeks and added another setback to the efforts to establish a lasting peace agreement from the previous fighting, which occurred last month.

The war started with the US-Israeli airstrikes against Iran on February 28 has left the Middle East in a state of uncertainty, and both sides now warn one another of new provocations amid dwindling prospects for a negotiated deal.