Washington [US], August 18: President Donald Trump has demanded that Iran surrender, as the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the United States and Iran, agreed several months ago and aimed at ending hostilities, has expired.
During an interview with Fox News on Monday, Trump said that Iran should "put up the white flag of surrender" in the five-month US-Israel war on Iran. The call is just the latest in the rhetorical tit-for-tat between the US and Iran as mediators continue to work to try to bring the parties back to the negotiating table.
Trump said his administration had opened a direct backchannel with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), but claimed that he was in no rush to end a conflict over which he has lost significant control and that has hurt his political support.
"They're good poker players, but they're dying," the US president said of the IRGC.
However, Trump also insisted that he is in no hurry to reach a deal despite November's upcoming US midterm elections, in which the opposition Democrats are seeking to take control of Congress.
"I have no time schedule . I'm not in a hurry," the president asserted. Rather, Trump once again sought to project strength, threatening that he could bomb US ally Oman if it "gets in the way" of a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blockaded.
"If Oman gets in the way, we'll bomb the s*** out of them," he said during the interview. Iranian and Omani officials have been talking for weeks on future maritime navigation arrangements through the shipping route, and the foreign ministry in Tehran said earlier on Monday that the two sides were working on a joint declaration.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the proposed mechanism would seek to protect the interests of both Iran and Oman while maintaining commercial shipping.
"This is the first time that a mechanism is being developed to simultaneously safeguard the sovereign rights of the two littoral states and ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels," said Baghaei.
Trump's remarks came as the MoU expired, with neither side indicating willingness to extend the agreement. Both have accused the other of violating the truce since it came into effect in mid-June.
"We have not yet made a decision to restart negotiations with the United States," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on Telegram on Saturday.
On Friday, Trump claimed that he would even declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory, while Iran retorted that the crucial energy waterway it has blockaded "will remain Iranian".
Source: Qatar Tribune
