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Carney says Iran acted ‘irresponsibly’ as Trump declares ceasefire ‘over’
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ANKARA, TURKEY — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Washington responded “as appropriate” to Tehran’s attacks in the Strait of Hormuz just as NATO allies gather at a summit in Turkey. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump declared that the ceasefire with Iran is “over.”
Carney was reacting to news of the U.S. military launching new strikes against Iran early Wednesday, hours after it said Tehran struck three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. It marks the biggest escalation of tensions since last month’s peace deal.
Speaking on his way to the NATO Summit, Carney said “a period of extreme de-escalation” had been put in place during the six days of mourning for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran at the start of the war.
Carney said Tehran had been “acting irresponsibly” by attacking Saudi and Qatari targets during that period of mourning. Several media reports have identified the impacted targets as Qatari liquified natural gas carrier and a Saudi oil tanker.
The prime minister reiterated his strong language about Iran when talking to Canadian reporters.
“That’s irresponsible. It’s not right, and the United States has responded as appropriate to look to stop this behaviour and put in place these conditions to re-establish ceasefire,” he said in response to a question from National Post.
Speaking of the U.S.-Iran peace deal, Carney said it is “evidently a fragile situation.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte agreed with Carney that the U.S. strikes were “absolutely necessary” given that Iran was violating the ceasefire in place.
“I think it is totally crucial that the U.S. forcefully react,” he told reporters.
Rutte said the situation in Iran would come up during Wednesday’s meeting of the North Atlantic Council, which includes the leaders of all 32 members states, but also set some clear expectations on what the alliance thinks Tehran should and shouldn’t do.
That includes NATO reiterating that Iran should “never, ever” get its hands on a nuclear capability and that freedom of navigation is “crucial” in the Strait of Hormuz, he said.
But not all allies were as supportive of the U.S. strikes on Iran as Carney and Rutte.
“I think it is justified to try to avoid that Iran develops a nuclear weapon, of course,” said the prime minister of Belgium, Bart De Wever, as he made his way to the summit.
Whether the U.S. operation was “well-planned, well-executed, that’s another matter,” he said.
President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, shared his concerns about further escalation of the crisis in the Middle East but said he stands in solidarity with Washington.
“It’s very important that we continue the work for a diplomatic solution to the Iran war; everyone is working very hard on that and we’re confident we can reach a final deal,” Prime Minister of the Netherlands Rob Jetten said.
The developing situation in the Middle East overshadowed a summit which was supposed to showcase how Canada and European allies are stepping up with billions of dollars more in defence spending to share the burden with the United States in case of a war.
Trump first commented on the U.S. and Iran trading fire overnight in a meeting with Rutte.
“We have attacked very powerfully last night the very dangerous people from Iran,” he said. “They’re sick. There’s something wrong with them. We said, ‘Go and do your funeral stuff,’ and instead of that, they start shooting rockets at ships.”
“So, I don’t like them at all. And, frankly, I think we waste a lot of time with them.”
.@POTUS on the status of the ceasefire with Iran: “To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore. They’re scum… They’re led by sick people… I’ll speak to our negotiators. They want to negotiate—they’re good people… but they have to come back to me. As far… pic.twitter.com/6eYfwMxSdn
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 8, 2026
Trump also criticized NATO allies for not assisting in the fight with Iran and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while also insisting that the U.S. did not need their help anyway.
“Italy turned us down and Germany turned us down and France turned us down,” he said during a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday.
“And that’s OK. But why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollars (on NATO), and they’re not there for us? We’ve always been there for them.”
On Wednesday, Rutte described the European lack of participation with Iran as “isolated cases.” European allies had noted at the time of initial U.S. and Israeli attacks against Iran in February that they had not been consulted in advance.
Asked if the ceasefire with Iran is over, Trump said: “To me, I think it’s over.”
“I don’t want to deal with them, but they’re scum. You know what scum is? They’re scum, they’re sick people, they’re led by sick people, and they’re vicious, violent people.”
However, he said he will allow his negotiators to keep talking with Iranian negotiators.
National Post
calevesque@postmedia.com
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