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WASHINGTON — <\/span>President Donald Trump<\/a> says he believes the ceasefire with Iran<\/a> is over. He says he\u2019s not sure he wants a deal anymore and says the U.S. should \u201cfinish the job.\u201d But he also insists that continued attacks<\/a> do not mean a return to war or long-term action.<\/p>\n The confusion and uncertainty in Trump\u2019s mixed messaging<\/a> and his approval of back-to-back military strikes<\/a> leave major questions about what comes next in the conflict, just weeks after difficult diplomacy to reach even an initial deal between the longtime adversaries.<\/p>\n The whipsawing rhetoric could be a strategy to increase the pressure on Tehran to stop attacking ships transporting oil and natural gas in the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> and bend to U.S. demands on its nuclear program<\/a> \u2014something Trump has tried before. <\/p>\n Whether it is a negotiation tactic or a signal of an escalation in fighting, mediators are scrambling to save the interim deal and the actions risk further inflaming tensions \u2014 which could spell problems for Republicans in November\u2019s midterm elections<\/a> if gas prices stay high.<\/p>\n Trump warned Wednesday that a new round of U.S. attacks was coming, even as he attempted to shrug off suggestions of a return to full-scale war. Hours later, the military announced it was carrying out new attacks on Iran that were meant to \u201cfurther degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnything that happens is going to happen very fast,\u201d Trump said earlier. \u201cWe\u2019re not looking for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n A regional intelligence official involved in the mediation efforts said the conflict had reached a critical stage as mutual mistrust rises. But high-level communications are ongoing around-the-clock to salvage the ceasefire, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the delicate behind-the-scenes negotiations. <\/p>\n The foreign ministers of Pakistan and Qatar, as well as Egypt\u2019s intelligence chief, are leading the efforts, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan<\/a> \u2014 whose country hosted the NATO summit that wrapped Wednesday \u2014 and leaders from Saudi Arabia are also involved, the official said. <\/p>\n The U.S. is upset about ships being attacked in the Strait of Hormuz and accuses Iran of slow-playing discussions on curtailing its nuclear program<\/a>, the official said. Nuclear talks were a major next step to try to turn the interim deal announced last month into a lasting end to the war. <\/p>\n Tehran, meanwhile, says Washington is the one violating the agreement regarding the strait and failing to ensure that a ceasefire in Lebanon, including an Israeli withdrawal, is being implemented, the official said. <\/p>\n Michael Eisenstadt, a former U.S. military analyst who now directs the Military and Security Studies Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that \u201cwe\u2019re still in negotiating mode, no matter what the president says.” <\/p>\n “This is part of negotiating, and declaring that the MOU is over is part of the negotiation as well,\u201d Eisenstadt said, referring to the memorandum of understanding that the ceasefire was built on. <\/p>\n Trump, though, has been explicit in public comments, saying he’s lost interest in preserving the ceasefire: \u201cI think it’s over.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cWe can play games, but I\u2019m not sure I want to make a deal,\u201d he said during the NATO summit<\/a> in Ankara, Turkey, adding that the U.S. military might \u201cjust finish the job.\u201d<\/p>\n Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran\u2019s lead negotiator, said the Trump administration had repeatedly violated the terms of the initial pact, forcing the country to respond appropriately.<\/p>\n \u201cThe era of bullying and extortion is over. It leads nowhere. We don\u2019t fold,\u201d Qalibaf posted on X.<\/p>\n Pakistan, which helped broker the ceasefire, said renewed conflict is in “no one\u2019s interest\u201d and urged both sides to uphold their commitments.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no alternative to continued engagement, dialogue and diplomacy to achieve shared goal of peace in the region,\u201d its foreign ministry said in a statement.<\/p>\n Trump, nonetheless, dismissed Tehran’s leaders, calling them \u201cscum” and \u201csick people.” Just last month, Trump said Iran\u2019s leadership was \u201cvery rational\u201d and “nice to deal with,\u201d while also calling the country’s leaders \u201csmart people.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking at an event in Milwaukee on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance, who led U.S. efforts to reach the initial deal with Tehran, said Iran was \u201cwell behaved for about a week.\u201d He added that lately the country had begun attacking the strait and said, \u201cIf they shoot at ships, we\u2019re going to knock the hell out of them.\u201d<\/p>\n Before the U.S. and Iran reached their first, two-week ceasefire in April, Trump intensified his threats, pledging that American forces would bomb Iranian bridges, roads and power plants. He even posted online<\/a>, \u201cA whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” <\/p>\n He repeated dire threats before the tentative, 60-day deal to end the war was reached last month.<\/p>\n Trump likes to seek ways to negotiate from a position of strength, and he could be looking for more leverage with new strikes. But being unequivocal about the end of the ceasefire also could free up Iran militarily \u2014 which could again roil oil prices and financial markets.<\/p>\n Ali Vaez, Iran director at the International Crisis Group, argued that escalating threats may be a riskier maneuver this time around, given the domestic and international stakes for the U.S.<\/p>\n \u201cIt certainly looks like an effort to turn up the military heat without yet closing the diplomatic door. But coercive bargaining is a dangerous game: at some point, a pressure campaign can acquire a momentum of its own and become the war it was ostensibly meant to avoid,\u201d Vaez said.<\/p>\n He added, however, that Iran still has every reason to return to the table because it desperately needs the economic relief that was promised under the interim deal.<\/p>\n Trump also has sent mixed signals about the fallout.<\/p>\n He long insisted that rising gas prices for Americans didn’t factor into his calculations on Iran \u2014 only to say that part of the reason he agreed to the interim deal was to avoid an \u201c economic catastrophe<\/a>.” He has since touted the falling price of oil after the deal was reached. <\/p>\n The president again resumed his past threats<\/a> to strike Iran\u2019s civilian infrastructure, possibly including electric plants and desalinization plants, and to seize the oil-production hub of Kharg Island<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cWe may take over Kharg Island,” he said. “There\u2019s not a thing they could do about it.\u201d <\/p>\n