TRUMP SAYS IRAN CANNOT HAVE NUCLEAR WEAPON AS CEASEFIRE DEAL EXPIRES

President Donald Trump stated on Truth Social that Iran cannot possess a nuclear weapon "in any way, shape or form" as a 60-day ceasefire agreement between Iran and the United States reached its expiration date on Monday. The memorandum, signed in June, was intended to halt attacks by the US and Israel on Iran and address Tehran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump wrote: "The number one Goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a Nuclear Weapon."

Iran rejected the notion that the agreement contained a binding deadline. Tehran stated it does not formulate policy under pressure, ultimatums or time limits, and accused the US of "gross and widespread violations" of the deal. The Iranian government said the time period was intended for negotiations to continue rather than serve as a fixed expiration. Despite the original accord's terms, shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has seen little improvement, with both Iran and the US maintaining respective blockades of the waterway and Iranian ports.

No breakthrough in permanent peace talks has been achieved as the agreement expired. The disagreement over whether the 60-day period represented a binding deadline underscores the wider impasse between the two nations. Negotiations between Tehran and Washington remain stalled amid mutual accusations of violations and bad faith.