“To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore. They’re scum… They’re led by sick people… I’ll speak to our negotiators,” he told reporters in Turkey on the sidelines of the two-day NATO summit.

“They want to negotiate … but they have to come back to me. As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with them,” he said.

Trump added that US representatives can continue negotiations, but he cast doubt on the outcome.

“They can talk, but I think they’re wasting their time,” he said.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with them.”

The remarks came hours after the US launched military strikes on Iranian targets in response to alleged attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

Defending the operation, Trump said Iran had violated the understanding reached between the two countries by allegedly attacking shipping during the mourning period following the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“We attacked, very powerfully last night, the very dangerous people from Iran,” he said.

“We say, ‘Go and do your funeral stuff,’ and instead of that, they start shooting rockets at ships yesterday. So we hit them very hard last night.”

Trump also accused Iran of plotting to assassinate him, claiming Tehran had repeatedly targeted US leadership.

“They want to take out the US leader, me. I’m on every list,” he said, adding that US forces had already eliminated senior Iranian leaders.

The US president described Iran as “the number one state sponsor of terror” and referred to its leadership as “evil, sick people”, comparing the country to “cancer” that must be dealt with before it spreads.

Trump also criticised several NATO allies, saying Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Italy had been unwilling to support Washington’s campaign against Iran.

“I spoke to Germany, France, the UK and Italy. They were unwilling to help us, but we didn’t need help,” he said.

He also singled out Spain, calling it “a terrible partner in NATO” and accusing Madrid of failing to contribute sufficiently to the alliance.