Trump Calls Iran ‘Islamic Republic of Japan’ as Ceasefire Ends

President Donald Trump told reporters at the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday that the 60-day US-Iran ceasefire is over, sending oil prices up nearly 6% and erasing more than $500 billion from US stock markets. Trump also referred to Iran as the “Islamic Republic of Japan” while describing what he said was an Iranian missile attack on a US aircraft carrier. Within hours, US Central Command had announced a fresh round of strikes on Iranian targets, and Bitcoin had slid toward $62,000.

“For me, I think it’s over,” Trump said in Ankara, sitting alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time.” Asked about negotiations, he added: “I don’t want to deal with them, but they’re scum.” The remarks, delivered on the sidelines of the alliance’s annual summit, capped a week that had begun with Qatar- and Pakistan-mediated talks in Doha reporting “positive progress” on a broader peace deal.

Trump Tells NATO the Iran Ceasefire Is Over

Trump delivered the announcement at a joint press appearance with Rutte. He used the moment to harden his posture against Tehran and to warn that further US military action was imminent. “I don’t want to deal with them anymore; they’re scum,” he said, according to Anadolu Agency’s report on the 6% Brent and WTI price jump after Trump’s NATO remarks.

The press conference also produced a string of verbal errors that drew fresh attention. Trump described what he said was an Iranian missile attack on a US aircraft carrier and named the country the “Islamic Republic of Japan.” In a separate joint appearance with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, he referred to his Ukrainian counterpart as “President Putin.” He called Spain a “waste” and threatened to cut off all trade with the country. Critics tied the moment to the pace of the trip and to Trump’s age; the president’s allies dismissed the slippage as routine.

Trump closed the press conference by signalling that the military campaign would continue. “We’re going to hit them hard tonight,” he said, according to Investopedia’s market wrap of the session. A Truth Social post that evening was blunter: “If it happens again, it will get much worse,” referring to attacks on three commercial oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and Tuesday. By the time Trump left Ankara, US Central Command had begun a second night of strikes on Iran.

US Forces Strike 90 Iranian Targets in Two Nights

CENTCOM said in a post on X that it had “started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.” A video compilation posted by the command showed roughly 90 targets hit across two nights, including air defenses, drone and missile storage, naval assets, and logistics infrastructure. The command separately said it had hit more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats, a step aimed at preventing Iran from disrupting commercial shipping. The new round of operations followed an initial wave of strikes on Tuesday in retaliation for the tanker attacks.

Iranian state media reported explosions in the southern port cities of Bandar Abbas, Chabahar, and Konarak, and in the western Gulf port city of Bushehr, which sits near Kharg Island and houses Iran’s only commercial nuclear power plant. Iran’s Health Ministry, through spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour, said US airstrikes over the previous two days had killed at least 14 people and wounded 78, the first overall casualty figures issued by Tehran since the strikes began. The escalation built on a Tuesday round that the earlier 80-plus target strike that revoked Iran’s oil waiver had set in motion.

Markets Erase $500 Billion as Oil Surges Past 6%

Energy markets moved first. International benchmark Brent crude rose 5.95% to $78.50 per barrel in early London trading, and the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate climbed the same percentage to $74.60, according to Anadolu Agency. Brent briefly topped $80 during the New York session before pulling back, the AP reported. The jump is unsettling because oil had only recently drifted back toward pre-war levels after a peak near $120 earlier in the conflict.

US equities followed oil down, then partly recovered. The S&P 500 fell as much as 1.1% intraday after Trump’s remarks, then trimmed its loss to 0.3% by the close, finishing at 7,482.71, down 21.14 points, according to the AP’s market wrap. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 576.76 points, or 1.1%, to 52,348.39. The Nasdaq composite, after erasing an early loss, rose 51.96 points, or 0.2%, to 25,870.65. Asian and European markets moved in the same direction: South Korea’s Kospi dropped 5.3%, Germany’s DAX lost 2.2%, and France’s CAC 40 sank 2.2%.

Gold and Bitcoin did not behave like classic safe havens on the day. Gold futures fell 1.4% to $4,100 an ounce. Bitcoin traded around $62,200, down from overnight highs near $63,700. The 10-year Treasury yield briefly touched 4.60% before settling above 4.57%, up from 4.55% late Tuesday and from 3.97% before the war with Iran began.

Across the crypto market, the unwind was sharp. CoinGlass data, reported by outlets tracking the $500 billion wipeout and Bitcoin drop toward $62,000, showed 125,335 traders liquidated over 24 hours, with total liquidations exceeding $385 million. CoinDesk, using the same data feed, put the 24-hour total at $450 million, with $350 million of that concentrated in altcoin pairs. The CoinDesk 20 Index fell 2.9% since midnight UTC, with all but one token declining. Solana retraced its entire July rally. Even as spot prices fell, hedging demand rose: the one-week options skew on Deribit jumped to nearly 20% in favor of puts, from 16% the day before.

They were well behaved for about a week. But then they started shooting at ships. So the deal is very simple, if they shoot at ships, we’re going to knock the hell out of them. And it’s that simple.

The quote is from Vice President JD Vance, speaking in Milwaukee on Wednesday. Vance helped negotiate the 60-day memorandum of understanding signed last month.

• “The ceasefire is over.” Trump told reporters in Ankara that the truce was finished and called talks a “waste of time.”
• “They’re scum.” Trump dismissed Iran’s leaders in a single phrase during the same appearance, then added that they were “sick people.”
• “We’re going to hit them hard tonight.” Trump previewed the second round of strikes from the NATO podium, hours before CENTCOM launched them.

Stats snapshot from Wednesday’s session: Brent +5.95% to $78.50; WTI +5.95% to $74.60; S&P 500 -0.3% to 7,482.71; Dow -1.1% to 52,348.39; 24-hour crypto liquidations $385 million to $450 million depending on the source. The broader damage was larger: crypto.news reported that more than $500 billion was erased from US equity market capitalization once Trump’s remarks hit the wires. Bitcoin analysts cited in a separate piece on Bitcoin’s cautious analyst response after the ceasefire held had warned that any rebound could be fragile.

The Doha Track Goes Cold

Six days before Trump’s Ankara remarks, the diplomatic picture looked different. Iranian and US negotiators met separately in Doha with Qatari and Pakistani mediators, and Pakistan’s foreign ministry said the talks had ended with “positive progress” on issues linked to the memorandum of understanding, according to Iran International’s read of the session.

That track unraveled fast. Within days, Iran attacked three commercial oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. The US retaliated with two nights of strikes, including a hit on part of Kharg Island. The ceasefire, which had banned attacks on commercial shipping and included a waiver allowing Iranian oil sales, was the architecture the Doha meetings were meant to extend. The 60-day negotiating window opened under that deal is now in question.

By the time Trump landed back in the US, his public message had split in two. He told reporters aboard Air Force One that Iran “called a little while ago” and “wants to make a deal so badly,” while also saying he did not know if Tehran was “worthy of making a deal” or would “honor a deal.” “They’re sort of crazy, to be honest with you,” he said. “They’re sort of crazy. They’re a little bit out of control. But they want to make a deal, badly.” The mixed signals left traders with a wide range of outcomes to price.

Why Kharg and Hormuz Are the Real Pivot

Kharg Island sits in the northern Persian Gulf, about 21 miles off the Iranian coast. The small coral island, roughly 8 square miles, has served as Iran’s primary oil export hub for nearly seven decades, according to a Council on Foreign Relations backgrounder on Kharg Island’s role as Iran’s oil export hub. The deepwater terminals there can load the very large crude carriers that cannot dock on much of Iran’s shallow mainland coast, and they handle the majority of the country’s crude shipments, most of which are destined for China.

Trump made clear on Wednesday that the island is in his sights. “The U.S. military could destroy all of Iran’s bridges, disable its electrical grid, and destroy its desalinization plants in one day,” he said, according to crypto.news. He added that US forces had struck part of Kharg the previous night and suggested they could end up controlling the whole thing. A 1984 declassified CIA document, cited by CFR, called the island’s oil facilities “the most vital in Iran’s oil system” and said their continued operation was essential to Iran’s economic well-being. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies estimates that roughly half of Iran’s government revenue comes from oil and gas, a separate report on oil past $108 as Iran warned the Strait of Hormuz would change noted. Trump said Wednesday that the US would “probably” strike Iran again that night, and within hours CENTCOM had launched another round of attacks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Trump call Iran the “Islamic Republic of Japan”?

Trump made the slip during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Ankara, the same appearance in which he referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin” and called Spain a “waste.” The remarks came in the middle of a multi-stop NATO summit that included trade fights with European allies, a fresh round of US strikes on Iran, and a presidential push to seize Kharg Island.

What did the new US strikes hit in Iran?

US Central Command said it struck roughly 90 targets across two nights, including air defenses, drone and missile storage sites, naval assets, and logistics infrastructure. The command also reported hitting more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Health Ministry said the strikes had killed at least 14 people and wounded 78.

Why are oil prices jumping on a single Trump remark?

The remark ended the assumption that the 60-day ceasefire was holding, which had been keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and Iranian crude flowing. Traders now have to price in a real chance of supply disruption through Kharg Island, which handles around 90 percent of Iran’s crude exports. The 5.95% jump in Brent and WTI on Wednesday reflected that repricing.

What is Kharg Island and why does it matter?

Kharg Island is a small coral island in the northern Persian Gulf, about 21 miles off the Iranian coast, that has served as Iran’s primary oil export hub for nearly seven decades. A 1984 declassified CIA document described its oil facilities as “the most vital in Iran’s oil system.” Trump has threatened to seize the island and US forces struck part of it on Tuesday night.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, financial, legal, or trading advice. Markets for oil, equities, and cryptocurrencies are volatile and can move sharply on geopolitical developments. Readers should consult a qualified professional before making any investment decisions. Figures cited are accurate as of publication on July 9, 2026.