Inside the White House Meeting that Convinced Trump to Abandon Iran Ceasefire

The meeting came after Iranian forces attacked vessels, prompting US military responses.

US President Donald Trump decided earlier this week that a ceasefire with Iran was no longer viable after being briefed on Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper, citing people familiar with the matter, said Trump reached the decision during a Monday meeting in the Oval Office with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, shortly before departing for the NATO summit in Turkey.

According to the report, Rubio and Hegseth told the president that Iran had fired on three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz within a matter of hours. The Journal reported that an angry Trump asked his advisers whether Tehran was still negotiating in good faith towards a permanent agreement to end the conflict.

“In the end, after discussing it with his senior aides, the president decided they weren’t,” the newspaper reported, citing sources familiar with the discussions.

According to the report, Trump then ordered a new wave of US strikes on Iranian targets over the following two days, reinstated sanctions on Iranian oil sales and threatened to restore a US naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.

On Wednesday, Trump appeared to signal that prospects for diplomacy had faded. “To me, I think it’s over,” he said, referring to the ceasefire. He also described negotiating with Iran as “a waste of time”.

The shift marks a significant change from last month, when Trump signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding with Iran in Versailles on 17 June, describing it as a breakthrough aimed at ending the conflict that began on 28 February, when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran.

According to the agreement, hostilities were to cease immediately, the Strait of Hormuz would reopen to shipping and both sides would work towards a final peace agreement within 60 days.

A US official told The Independent that responsibility for the latest escalation lay with Iran. “As the world knows, President Trump’s first preference is always peace and diplomacy,” the official said. “Unfortunately, Iran has chosen the path of violence – and they are reaping the consequences of that decision. The United States will not stand idly by while Iran commits acts of international terrorism, and President Trump will never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that tensions escalated after three commercial ships travelling through the Strait of Hormuz received a radio warning from Iran saying: “This route is not safe… Our missiles and drones are ready to fire at you.”

The newspaper said Iranian forces subsequently launched missiles at the vessels, setting one tanker ablaze and forcing its crew to abandon ship.

The report said Iranian officials had grown increasingly frustrated by what they believed was a covert US military effort to help guide commercial traffic through the southern passage of the strategic waterway.

Following the reported attacks, US Central Command said American forces carried out strikes “to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway.”

Vice-President JD Vance defended the US response during an event in Wisconsin on Wednesday. “The deal is very simple,” he said. “If they shoot at ships, we’re going to knock the hell out of them.”

The Trump administration has also revoked a 60-day Treasury Department licence that had temporarily eased sanctions on Iranian oil exports as part of efforts to support the ceasefire.

Asked on Wednesday about restoring the naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, Mr Trump said: “We may put it back.” According to The Wall Street Journal, US Navy ships are positioned to enforce such a blockade should the president order it.

The latest developments have drawn criticism from Democrats. “The so-called ceasefire in the Middle East has collapsed. Again,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote on X. “Donald Trump’s reckless war of choice in Iran has been a disaster.”

A CBS News poll released last month found that 78% of respondents wanted the conflict to end, while 69% said the war had not been worth the cost.

A CBS News poll released last month found that 78% of respondents wanted the conflict to end, while 69% said the war had not been worth the cost.

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