From "unconditional surrender" to "over": Trump's shifting Iran rhetoric

President Trump declared his temporary ceasefire with Iran "over" Wednesday morning, just three weeks after triumphantly describing the deal as "unconditional surrender."

Why it matters: Iran's renewed attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz are undermining Trump's attempts to convince Americans the skirmish has ended.

Driving the news: The U.S. fired on Iranian military targets Tuesday in retaliation for striking ships in the strait.

• Speaking to reporters at the NATO summit in Turkey on Wednesday, Trump declared the ceasefire "over" and dismissed further negotiations, although he did give his team the green light to continue talks if they chose to do so.
• "As far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them," he said.
• The White House did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

The intrigue: Trump initially sounded conciliatory when a peace deal looked possible, even conceding Iran's right to defend itself the day he signed the memorandum of understanding. However, Trump's rhetoric grew increasingly bellicose as the ceasefire unraveled.

• On June 17, Trump said it would be "a little bit unfair" for Iran not to have ballistic missiles if other countries in the region had them.
• The next day, he called the Iranians "smart" and described the deal as an "unconditional surrender" on The Axios Show.
• From there, the president's rhetoric escalated sharply, threatening that Iran "won't have a country" if it closes the Strait of Hormuz, and saying the U.S. will "finish the job" if talks fail.

Here's how Trump's rhetoric on Iran has shifted since the MOU was signed on June 17:

June 18: The MOU is "unconditional surrender"

Trump told Axios' Marc Caputo on The Axios show that America has "defeated [Iran] totally militarily," and that the memorandum "probably is unconditional surrender."

• Trump also offered praise for the current Iranian leadership, calling them the "smartest group" the administration had dealt with, adding that the Iranian people more broadly are "very smart people."

June 21: Hormuz threats

While Vice President JD Vance met with negotiators in Switzerland, Trump threatened to destroy Iran if it closed the Strait of Hormuz again.

• "You close it and you won't have a country. You won't even make it back to your fucking country."

June 27: "Complete the job" so Iran "will no longer exist"

Trump acknowledged the U.S. had recently struck Iranian targets for violating the ceasefire, adding that the country "never" learns.

• "There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!"

July 6: "One way or the other" we'll win

During a pause in talks to observe Former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's funeral, Trump said the U.S. was going to win the Iran war "one way or the other."

• "We're either going to make a deal, or we're going to finish the job. It won't be tough to finish the job."

July 8: Iranian leadership is "cuckoo"

Speaking Wednesday in Ankara, Turkey, Trump called Iranian leadership "sick," "vicious" and "violent."

• "We make a deal. [The Iranians] go outside, talk to the press, they say 'we never even talked about it'. There's something wrong with them," Trump said.
• "They're cuckoo. As far as I'm concerned, it's over."

Go deeper: U.S. strikes Iran after attacks on vessels in Strait of Hormuz