'There's never been a ceasefire': Don Winslow slams Trump over Iran War handling

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that the memorandum of ​understanding (MoU) signed with Iran to end the conflict ‌was over, adding he didn't want to engage with them anymore. The comments came as the two nations traded military strikes, posing a greater threat to the ceasefire agreement signed last month. While many hoped to be over, author Don Winslow pointed out that there was never a cease-fire, as, according to him, Trump isn't mentally fit to navigate the war. 

The interim ceasefire agreement between the two nations was intended to provide a 60-day window ​for negotiations on a permanent agreement. However, indirect ⁠talks in Qatar ended with no sign of ​headway, and the two sides unleashed a new wave of strikes in the past couple of days. "There is not, and there never has been, a cease-fire in the Trump-Iran war. Donald Trump is mentally unfit IMO to run a lemonade stand," Winslow wrote in his post on X. "He is surrounded by goons, fools and criminals. It is truly insane that 70 million American citizens voted for this psychopath (IMO)." 

The comments come after Trump said the ceasefire agreement was over while speaking to reporters at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. “For me, I think it’s over. It’s just a waste of time dealing with them,” Trump said, adding that Iranians are "scum" and "violent".  The president's comments came as the U.S. launched strikes on Iran early Wednesday, hours after it revoked a license authorizing the sale of Iranian oil in retaliation for the alleged attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz by Tehran.

Following the strikes, Iran hit back by targeting U.S. military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said, Al Jazeera reported, citing semi-official media outlet Fars. The IRGC claimed it had targeted 85 U.S. military facilities in the two nations, and the U.S. is yet to comment on the Iranian attacks, which came after the U.S. Central Command on late Tuesday said it had targeted more than 80 Iranian sites as "an immediate response to Iran's latest attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz."

The crossfire has sparked fresh concern that the interim agreement to end the hostilities could break down and drag Washington and Tehran again into a wider conflict. The escalating tensions also threaten the efforts to resume crude oil shipments in the Strait of Hormuz that are crucial to the global economy. The attacks came during the dayslong funeral for Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the war's first moments. The funeral, which ends Thursday, was supposed to be a period of calm as negotiations to reach a final deal were due to start after Khamenei's burial. Now the new attacks have thrown the prospect of the tougher discussions into question, though neither side has confirmed that they will walk away from the negotiations.