Middle East peace talks in doubt as Iran says it needs to ‘reassess’ after overnight strikes

A woman walks past a banner in Tehran bearing the images of the late founder of the Islamic Revolution supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L), the late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, and his son, the current supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei (R). Photograph: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen A woman walks past a banner in Tehran bearing the images of the late founder of the Islamic Revolution supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L), the late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, and his son, the current supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei (R). Photograph: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images Middle East peace talks in doubt as Iran says it needs to ‘reassess’ after overnight strikes US launches strikes in retaliation for downing of US army helicopter, while White House source says deal could still be close The future of peace talks in the Middle East have been thrown into question after Iran’s foreign ministry said it needed to “reassess” its participation, while Donald Trump said Iran would have to “pay the price” after the two countries traded fire overnight, drawing neighbouring states back into an on-and-off war that has consumed the region since late February. The US launched strikes against Iran in the early hours of Wednesday morning in retaliation for what it said was Iran’s downing of a US army helicopter near the strait of Hormuz. Iran then launched a wave of retaliatory airstrikes claiming hits on US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan. The tit-for-tat attacks were the most severe escalation since a ceasefire was established in early April. Talks to turn the ceasefire into a durable peace have been stalling for weeks, with periodic flare-ups as both sides launched limited strikes and traded blame for violating the truce. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said US strikes jeopardised ongoing ceasefire negotiations. He accused the US of undermining diplomacy with its attacks and contradictory messages. He said that Israel was also harming the diplomatic process by continuing to violate the ceasefire in Lebanon . “Following overnight events, we need to reassess … Any diplomatic process requires a minimum stable environment,” Baqaei said. Trump, for his part, said Iran had taken “too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them” and would now pay a price. In a post on Truth Social, the US president said: “Iran’s military is a complete and total mess. Much of it, like their Navy and Air Force, doesn’t even exist any more – They have been completely defeated. Iran is all talk and no action. The Bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!!” View image in fullscreen Donald Trump: ‘They have been completely defeated.’ Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP Trump has frequently threatened to resume military action since a ceasefire was established in April, but has not yet fully followed through. Strikes since the ceasefire have been limited and styled as calculated, one-off attacks, as both sides jock