President Donald Trump declared from the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday that the memorandum of understanding with Iran “has ended” and that he no longer wishes to engage with Tehran, triggering a sharp repricing of risk across global markets. Brent crude jumped more than 6% to approach $79 a barrel, its highest in two weeks, while US stock futures fell heavily—Dow contracts lost over 700 points—and European equities slid, with the Stoxx 600 down 0.6%. The remarks came hours after US Central Command confirmed strikes on more than 80 targets inside Iran, including air-defence systems, coastal radar sites and over 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fast-attack craft, in retaliation for what it described as Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Viewed from Washington, the military action and the president’s statement mark the collapse of a 60-day ceasefire framework signed on 17 June. A US official told CNN the strikes would “not end soon” and were intended as punishment for continued targeting of shipping. The administration also revoked the general licence that had permitted Iranian crude sales, a concession designed to provide Tehran with hard currency. According to US negotiators, the memorandum had been undermined by Iranian violations, and Trump indicated he would consult his envoys—Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner—but considered further talks “a waste of time”.

Iranian officials, as reported by Tehran-based media, accused Washington of circumventing the memorandum through a separate framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, and insisted that the accord gave Iran authority to regulate safe passage through Hormuz. They rejected the southern route near Oman as a breach of the deal’s terms. Negotiations over the release of frozen Iranian funds in Qatar had also stalled, with the US demanding the money be spent exclusively on American foodstuffs and Tehran refusing. The core nuclear file, diplomats in the region note, had not yet been substantively addressed.

The market reaction extended well beyond crude. European auto and banking stocks led losses, while airline shares fell on fuel-cost fears. In a counterintuitive move, spot gold dropped towards $4,100 an ounce as investors sold the metal to cover losses elsewhere. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note rose to 4.56%, its highest in a month, as bond markets priced in renewed inflation risks. The International Monetary Fund cut its 2026 global growth forecast to 3%, explicitly citing the economic drag of the Middle East conflict. In Tehran, the rial weakened past 180,000 to the dollar and the stock index fell sharply.

With the memorandum now declared void by the American president, the dossier returns to a state of open military confrontation and suspended diplomacy. Pakistani and Qatari mediators have yet to indicate whether they can salvage the ceasefire, while US forces remain on alert for further Iranian action. The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies passed before the war, is again a zone of active disruption, and no new talks have been scheduled.