Trump Declares End to Truce; Iran Vows No Surrender as Nuclear Facility Activity Resumes

U.S. President Donald Trump has officially declared an end to the truce with Iran.

With Iran also standing firm, stating there will be no surrender, the two nations are entering a phase of intense confrontation.

While both sides have expressed a willingness to continue dialogue, analysts suggest that the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which was based on a truce to facilitate peace negotiations, has effectively collapsed, leaving the situation vulnerable to the resumption of armed conflict at any time.

On July 10 (local time), President Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, stating, "Iran requested to continue talks, and we agreed, but the United States has firmly informed the Iranian side that the truce has ended."

This follows his remarks on July 8 during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, where he stated that the peace MOU with Iran "seems to be over," effectively formalizing the end of the truce.

Iran is also signaling a hardline response.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, who has led the peace negotiations, stated, "Ending the war is our top priority, but this war will not end with Iran's surrender."

He added, "If the U.S. provokes us again, we will reclaim our legitimate rights through a full-scale defensive war."

Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, denied President Trump's claim that Iran had requested to continue the dialogue.

However, Baghaei added that Iran has accepted a visit from Qatari mediators.

Meanwhile, a CNN report has emerged citing satellite imagery that suggests Iran has been conducting restoration work at nuclear facilities following the signing of the peace MOU with the U.S.

Satellite photos taken by Venter on June 22 and July 7 show reconstruction efforts at the Taleghan 2 facility within the Parchin military complex, which is suspected to be a storage site for high-performance explosives used in nuclear weapons.

A photo from June 21 also captured vehicles entering and exiting tunnels in an area suspected to be an underground nuclear facility.

CNN analyzed that these circumstances suggest a potential violation by Iran of the MOU signed with the U.S. on June 17.

In response, the U.S. Department of Defense stated, "We will not comment on operational security, battlefield matters, or intelligence issues."

With tensions rising again due to Iran's attacks on civilian merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz and subsequent U.S. retaliatory airstrikes, the emergence of evidence suggesting a potential breach of the MOU is expected to lead to significant difficulties in reaching a final peace agreement.

Nevertheless, behind-the-scenes discussions through mediating countries appear to be continuing.

The U.S. online media outlet Axios, citing sources, reported that additional negotiations between the U.S. and Iran are scheduled to be held in Switzerland next week.

Reported by Kwon Aelee | Video by Na Hong-hee | Graphics by Lee Jung-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.