Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei’s order could further frustrate US President Donald Trump and complicate talks on ending the US Israeli war on Iran. (AP file photo) Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said Saturday that the US has broken its promise and will face consequences if it keeps attacking Iran. Khamenei’s statement came as the renewed hostilities between the US and Iran entered their eighth consecutive day.
Both sides are heightening their attacks and expanding the scope of their targets.
Khamenei said repeated US violations of the memorandum of understanding signed last month prove that President Trump’s word cannot be trusted. He said this pattern shows that bullying and aggression are built into how America operates.
The repeated breaches of the agreement by the Great Satan [the US] regarding the MOU signed by the Presidents of Iran and the US have once again laid bare a fundamental truth: the signature of the US President is utterly worthless and devoid of credibility.
— Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei (@MKhamenei_ir) July 18, 2026
In hisstatement, Khamenei called the US “the great Satan” a term he hasn’t used since assuming office.
Khamenei warned that if the US keeps pushing for war and accepting higher costs, it should expect consequences from Iran and its allies in the region. He said recent fighting in southern Iran already offers a preview of what’s coming.
What triggered this latest exchange?
The statement followed a deadly Friday attack in Jordan, where Iranian missile and drone strikes killed two US service members while a third went missing, according to US Central Command. Four other soldiers were hurt, treated in Jordanian hospitals, and later released.
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The US responded with new strikes Saturday aimed at Iran’s ability to threaten shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and at punishing the Revolutionary Guard units blamed for the Jordan attack.
No. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran has suspended its commitments under the memorandum, arguing the US broke the deal first by resuming strikes on Iranian territory. The agreement, brokered by Qatar and Pakistan last month, had aimed to end the conflict for good. Both sides now describe it as over.
What’s happening on the ground?
The US strikes early Saturday killed three people and wounded eight in Iran’s Hormozgan province, damaging two bridges and a road tunnel, according to Iranian state media. A second round of strikes hit the same province later that day with no reported civilian casualties. Iran, in turn, struck civilian infrastructure in Kuwait, including a power and water plant, prompting officials there to urge residents to conserve electricity.
Trump has said he’s unmoved by Iran’s decision to step back from the agreement, telling a reporter he “couldn’t care less”. Meanwhile, the EU and Gulf states have jointly called on Iran to stop interfering with shipping in the strait and reopen it without conditions, as fears grow that the region could be headed toward a prolonged conflict.
