Iranian leader calls Trump’s signature ‘worthless and invalid’ as war rages

International Iranian leader calls Trump’s signature ‘worthless and invalid’ as war rages Comments: by Sophie Brams - 07/18/26 2:07 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Sophie Brams - 07/18/26 2:07 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Saturday accused the U.S. of repeatedly breaching its ceasefire agreement with Tehran, calling President Trump’s signature on the memorandum of understanding “utterly worthless and devoid of credibility.”

Khamenei said in written statements shared on the social platform X that days of renewed U.S. strikes demonstrated “yet another indisputable testament to the US’s dishonesty, irrationality, unreliability, and malicious nature,” warning of further Iranian retaliation.

“Now that the American enemy is seeking to escalate the conflict thereby incurring even heavier costs and further humiliation, it should know that the noble nation of Iran and the Resistance Front have unforgettable lessons in store for it,” Khamenei said in another post.

Khamenei has still not been seen in public since he was chosen to succeed his father, slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the early days of the conflict.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters in March that Khamenei was “wounded and likely disfigured” from the Feb. 28 strike on his father’s compound.

One of the Ayatollah’s senior advisers threatened on Friday to resume “full-scale offensive operations” against U.S. forces and allies in the Middle East after the U.S. launched its seventh consecutive night of strikes.

Major-General Mohsen Rezaei declared that “no political border will be safe” unless the U.S. military operation ceases.

U.S. Central Command (Centcom) said late Friday night that American forces had hit “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities” and a naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz was again being fully enforced.

Iran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes targeting U.S. facilities in neighboring Gulf countries, including Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Centcom confirmed on Saturday afternoon that two U.S. service members were killed while defending against Iranian attacks in Jordan on Friday, and another service member is missing in action. They have not yet been identified.

The escalation comes as Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi says that Tehran has suspended its commitments under the 60-day ceasefire agreement due what he described as “aggressive actions” by the U.S.

“The United States has effectively trampled all of its commitments and suspended them,” Gharibabadi said in comments highlighted by Iran International. “We have also suspended our commitments under the Islamabad memorandum of understanding and are not implementing them.”

Talks between the two nations were already in a fragile state amid a flare-up of tit-for-tat strikes in recent weeks, and the actions of the past few days make it even more unlikely that officials will return to the negotiating table anytime soon.

“I don’t want to negotiate now,” Trump said during an interview with Fox News on Tuesday. “They want to make a deal, but every time they make a deal, they break it.”