With midterms approaching, Trump brushes off oil price fearspublished at 18:03 BST 8 July

18:03 BST 8 July

Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter

Over the last few weeks, President Trump has repeatedly praised Iran's leadership as one he believes is more rational and easier to deal with than those that were killed at the height of Operation Epic Fury earlier this year.

But at the summit in Ankara, he has repeatedly referred to them as "scum" - and leaving an open question on whether he believes negotiations can continue, even if he believes further US strikes are necessary.

"We can play games. But I'm not sure I want to make a deal," he told reporters. "Let's just finish the job."

Notably, he has also brushed off questions about the price of oil - an important domestic consideration for Americans who grew increasingly antsy about rising petrol prices at US pumps.

Trump has repeatedly expressed optimism that oil prices are dropping, and that any price increases would end quickly.

It is unclear, however, how that can be the case if military strikes continue or Iran takes steps to impose further controls over the Strait of Hormuz.

"I've been right about everything," Trump said. "I have been for a long time."

But with the November midterms just a few months away, many Republicans will be hearing from concerned constituents - for whom Trump's argument that high oil prices are a worthwhile price to pay may ring hollow.

• A benchmark oil price was up 5% today to hit $80 a barrel - read our earlier post here

Trump is asked if it seems like the war might start again.

"I don't think it's going to start again," he says.

"I think it's going to go very quickly, they hit a couple of ships and so we hit them much harder."

He adds that he had been asked earlier if he planned to hit Iran again, "I said we might, yeah we might."

"But when they hit, we hit," he says. "We use their language and we speak their language."

The news conference has now finished.

Trump is asked about his comments last month that Iranian people were nice and rational to deal with - compared to him calling them "scum" today.

He responds by saying he "got to know them", adding that the country's leaders are not doing a service to their people "based on their actions over the last week or two".

Trump then says he does not think a full-scale conflict is going to start again, adding: "Anything that happens is going to be over very quickly."

The president reiterates earlier comments that the US "might" strike Iran tonight.

He adds that anybody who goes near the country's underground nuclear material will "get blown up" and that the US will eventually "take it".

Image source, Reuters

Trump insists the war with Iran has been a "tremendous military success" and says it has prevented Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

He says Iran's negotiators are "a little loco, they're a little crazy", and goes on to say: "In one day, all of their anti-aircraft is gone... everything is gone. Their leaders are gone."

He adds: "They have another set of leaders, they may be gone. Who knows?"

Repeating his remarks about Iranian leaders being "scum", Trump says: "I may be gone too, because I'm their number one target."

In 2024, Trump's campaign said it had been briefed by US intelligence on Iranian assassination plots against him. The Iranian government did not comment at the time.

Trump is still speaking at the Nato summit, flanked by some of his closest advisers - Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio and Scott Bessent.

His remarks are wide-ranging and have touched on Iran, Ukraine, and more.

Trump says there was "tremendous love" and "unity" in the room when Nato leaders met earlier, describing the summit as "tremendously successful" - in contrast to some criticism of allies earlier in the day.

On Iran, Trump says its air force is "totally decimated", their leaders are "gone" and its combat capability is "pretty low".

He says other nations "respect us as a country again", and that two years ago "Nato laughed at us... they don't laugh anymore".

Donald Trump is still speaking at the Nato summit - we'll bring you any news if there is a significant update from him there.

In the mean time, our security correspondent Frank Gardner has been giving his assessment of events in the Turkish capital.

After making a series of comments to reporters during meetings throughout the Nato summit, Donald Trump is now speaking at his official news conference.

We'll bring you any key lines from his speech or you can watch live above.

Eight Iranian soldiers were killed in the attacks launched by the US overnight, according to a statement attributed to the Iranian military.

The soldiers were serving in the air force and the navy, says a statement shared by several Iranian media outlets.

It says the soldiers were stationed in Bandar Abbas and Bushehr.

Michael Race
Business and economics reporter

Oil prices have surged in response to Trump declaring the ceasefire between the US and Iran "over". Brent crude, the global benchmark, has shot up 7% today to hit $80 a barrel.

Prices remain well below the peak seen in May but the fresh spike is clearly dampening appetite among investors, with stocks markets in the US and across Europe down on trading.

Earlier today, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released an update to its economic outlook, but some of its projections could already be upended due to today's events.

The report will have been written prior to today's news. In it, the IMF says it assumed the key Strait of Hormuz waterway, for example, would be reopened in "mid-July, with conditions broadly returning to the prewar state of affairs by March 2027".

That looks very unlikely to happen now.

The influential body, which seeks to encourage the global trade and economic growth, warned conflict in the Middle East was the "most imminent risk" to its forecast for the global economy.

An escalation between the US and Iran increases risks to inflation due to supply constraints causing rising oil and food prices.

With oil prices surging today, those risks are already beginning to become reality.

Image source, Reuters

Press TV, the English language channel for Iran's state-controlled IRIB outlet, cites a security source as saying Iran will close the Strait of Hormuz to all maritime traffic in the case of any strike made against the country.

It reports the source as saying the country will also strike at least two targets for every Iranian target that is hit, adding: "Iran does not distinguish between the United States and its partners in the region."

Separately, the Tasnim news agency - affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - says the "death" of the Islamabad ceasefire agreement had been "officially announced" by Trump.

The outlet added that Iran now has a "clearer mandate" to confront the US, Israel and their proxies in the region and the world.

Earlier, a senior adviser to the Iranian supreme leader warned of "fire" in the Middle East region following Trump's comments.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter

With conflict again brewing in the Middle East and a full-blown war in Ukraine, one might think that Trump would be laser-focused on the main topics at hand in Ankara.

But his remarks today have been largely familiar ones to those of us who listen to him regularly, with the same freewheeling, slightly chaotic energy that has been the hallmark of his sessions with reporters in the Oval Office or on Air Force One.

Just a few minutes ago, for example, Trump briefly appeared alongside Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a controversial figure who leads a country in what Trump often describes as a "tough" part of the world.

Even there, Trump - often unprompted - repeatedly pivoted back and forth between topics, both domestic and global. He even took a moment to insult his predecessor Joe Biden.

At one point, he abruptly brought up his administration's efforts to fight crime in Washington DC, where last year he deployed the National Guard in a bid to combat what the administration described as out-of-control crime.

He even joked that al-Sharaa, who came up through the ranks of Al Qaeda-affiliated jihadist groups in Syria and fought against US forces in Iraq, may not have been frightened of Washington's criminals.

That's a frequent talking point of his back home, but for many of his detractors it will be somewhat jarring to hear them with a foreign leader alongside him.

Donald Trump has just been speaking to journalists during another meeting at the Nato summit, this time with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Trump is asked how the US plans to get the nuclear material still inside Iran, as well as the assurances he wants to see from its leaders after saying negotiations with them are a "waste of time".

Trump says the US has effectively already secured the nuclear material "because it is so far underground nobody is going to be able to get it except us" - a reference to the June 2025 strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

He goes on: "[The nuclear material] is so far down underneath a mountain that it would take massive machinery that we have, that no other country has."

Asked whether the US will consider putting boots on the ground in Iran, he adds: "Why would I go in there? I go in when they are completely either eliminated or an agreement is made."

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

Image source, Reuters

Last week, US President Donald Trump claimed talks with Iran had been paused for the funeral of Iran's former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"We gave them [Iran] a week off for a funeral because we're nice," Trump told a crowd gathered at Mount Rushmore for his address on the eve of 4 July celebrations.

Iran has not confirmed what Trump said, though the country is still holding funeral processions for Khamenei over several days, with one in Iraq today.

Iran’s late supreme leader was killed on the first day of the war on 28 February, when the US and Israel attacked Iran. He is expected to be buried tomorrow in his birthplace, Mashhad, a holy city for Shia Muslims in north-eastern Iran.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who travelled to Iraq for the funeral processions today, has already returned to Tehran.

It is not known whether his return is related to the renewed tensions between Iran and the US.

The figure of interest who has not been seen during the funeral procession for Ali Khamenei, which began in Tehran on 4 July, is his son and Iran’s third Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

He has not been seen since succeeding his father in early March, with written statements attributed to him and released via Iranian media his only communication.

Image source, Reuters

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the focus in the Middle East should be on "getting back to that ceasefire".

Asked how worried people should be about developments between the US and Iran, Starmer says "the last day or two has obviously been challenging".

He says ensuring stability, getting the Strait of Hormuz open and implementing the memorandum of understanding will "reduce" the impact on the UK economy.

"That's really important for the region and for the world," Starmer says.

Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might be back in President Donald Trump’s good graces.

Trump heaped praise on Netanyahu on Wednesday after weeks of tension between the US and Israel over the war with Iran.

Speaking at the Nato summit in Turkey, the president says he has worked “very closely” with the Israeli leader and calls Netanyahu a “great wartime prime minister.”

“In my opinion he’s been a great wartime prime minister,” Trump tells reporters.

When asked if Netanyahu should be reelected later this year Trump appears to back him, though he stops short of an explicit endorsement.

“I would think he should be popular because he’s done a great job,” Trump says.

The comments are striking given Trump’s recent public criticisms of Netanyahu.

Trump was critical of Israeli strikes on Lebanon last month that jeopardised the US-Iran peace talks.

Vice-President JD Vance was also critical of Netanyahu and Israel’s handling of the conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon

Trump also says he expects Israel will withdraw ground troops from Lebanon.

“I think they’re going to,” Trump says. Israel is “getting along with Lebanon".

We've had some reaction from Iran to comments from Donald Trump earlier that the ceasefire is "over".

A senior adviser to the Iranian supreme leader has warned that US "adventures" in the region would be met with an "immediate response".

Ali Akbar Velayati says "new provocations and the verbal admission of the cancellation" of the initial peace agreement "drives the region toward fire".

He says Iran's so-called Axis of Resistance - a loose network of proxies and allies in the region - has "its finger on the triggers".

Video shows fire at southern Iranian fishing dock after US strikespublished at 15:31 BST 8 July

15:31 BST 8 July

By Shayan Sardarizadeh

BBC Verify has authenticated footage showing the aftermath of overnight US strikes on the southern Iranian town of Kuhestak, in Hormozgan province near the Strait of Hormuz.

The first part of the video, filmed at night, shows multiple fires and smoke at what appears to be a fishing dock.

The second verified clip, filmed from the Kuhestak beach in the morning, shows a column of black smoke billowing from the dock.

Checks by BBC Verify indicate that the footage is recent and has not been manipulated with AI tools.

Image source, Getty Images

Talks have been taking place between world leaders at the Nato summit in Turkey, where we're expecting to hear more from US President Donald Trump a little later on.

In the meantime, here's a recap of some of the news lines we've heard so far from Ankara:

On Ukraine:

• The war in Ukraine dominated the first day of talks yesterday, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged allies to prioritise air defence systems
• Earlier this afternoon, Trump met with his Ukrainian counterpart, and later suggested he could give Ukraine the right to make Patriot air-defence missiles
• Addressing reporters in Ankara, the US president also said both Kyiv and Moscow wanted to see a "settlement" to end the conflict

On the alliance:

• Twelve countries, including the UK, have agreed to spend more than £37bn ($50bn) over the next ten years on a new long-range missile to protect Europe - known as the Deep Precision Strike project
• Not for the first time, Trump took the opportunity to express his upset with Nato, calling Spain a "terrible partner" and accusing the organisation's members of refusing to help in the war with Iran
• He also said that the dispute over Greenland "hurt my relationship with Nato"
• But, at a later meeting, the US president reportedly told leaders that he wants to keep his country in an alliance with Nato, according to the Reuters and AFP news agencies

Image source, Getty Images

Trump has now finished speaking so if you're just joining us, here's a recap of what we just heard from the US president on Iran:

• Trump warned the US will "probably hit [Iran] hard again tonight", following a new wave of strikes overnight

• The president reiterated that the goal of US operations in Iran was to end the country's nuclear programme, not bring about regime change
• Pushed on his earlier comments that a ceasefire between Iran and the US was over, Trump refused to be drawn on whether a deal might be reached: "We may just do it without a deal because you know what, it's easier"
• The president also threatened to reimpose a naval blockade on Iran, which was lifted as part of the initial agreement to end the war
• Trump's visible anger shows he may have lost patience with Iran, our White House reporter Bernd Debusmann Jr writes

Image source, Getty Images

Trump next says the US is considering reinstating its naval blockade of Iranian ports, which was lifted as part of the initial agreement to end the war on 17 June.

"We may put it back, the blockade," Trump says. "And it will only be a blockade for Iran, anybody else can have whatever they want."

Iran will "drop some mines if they can", Trump says, but adds that the US has minesweepers that could clear them.

He also says that Nato countries have offered during the summit today to send minesweepers to the region.