Donald Trump’s latest pronouncements on Iran and the prospects for a negotiated deal should be taken seriously, since he is, after all, the president of the United States.

This is what he said at the NATO summit in Türkiye.

“I don’t want to deal with them anymore, they’re scum. Do you know what scum is? They’re scum. They’re sick people. They’re run by sick people. And they’re vicious, violent people.

“And if they had a nuclear weapon, they would use it. As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.”

But are they his last words on the subject? Certainly not. He has continued to constantly comment on the war and the memorandum of understanding (MOU) that is being negotiated. His words have ranged from claims of victory to threats to annihilate Iranian civilization and support for negotiations.

He later doubled down on his latest threats, saying the United States “will probably hit them harder again tonight,” adding: “I gave them a little warning. We’re going to hit them harder again tonight.”

The ability of the United States to attack Iran, causing great damage, is not in doubt. But what it has not been able to do is break the regime’s will to abandon any of its fundamental demands, starting with control of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

Buried in his latest verbal attack was an acceptance that talks will continue. They have been on hold as Iran undergoes days of funerals for its former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, assassinated by Israel and the United States on the first day of the war, February 28.

Trump was asked if the exchange of attacks between the United States and Iran (and, by extension, some of the United States’ Arab allies in the Gulf) meant that talks between them were over.

Referring to his chief negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, he said: “I don’t care, they can talk. But I think they’re wasting their time.”

Then, about the Iranian regime: “They are a bunch of liars.”

This can be read as another admission that the president of the United States, for all his bluster, has no better option than negotiations. With Israel, the United States tried and failed to destroy the Iranian regime.

But the negotiation process is fragile. One source among the mediators trying to make it work described what happened as “a setback for sure.” The atmosphere is said to be “very tense.”

That’s a diplomatic way of saying that the events of the last few days are a terrible backdrop for talks between two powers that have no confidence that the other will keep its word if a deal is reached.