Washington, August 17, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
US President Donald Trump has urged Iran to raise the “white flag of surrender” as a 60-day Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) expires on Monday, while indicating that he is not working to a fixed deadline in dealing with Tehran.
In a telephone interview with Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst, Trump said US naval pressure on Iran would continue and maintained that Washington was in no hurry to conclude the standoff.
“I have no time schedule. I’m not in a hurry,” Trump said, according to Yingst.
Trump called on Iran to raise the “white flag of surrender” and described Iranian officials as skilled poker players, while saying the country was “dying”. He also rejected the suggestion that the US midterm elections were influencing his policy towards Iran.
The 60-day MoU expires on Monday, although Trump’s comments indicated that he did not consider the deadline binding. According to the report, the continuing US naval blockade was putting economic pressure on Iran and costing its government hundreds of millions of dollars a day. Additional US Treasury sanctions were also expected this week.
Trump issued a particularly strong warning over Iran’s talks with Oman concerning the Strait of Hormuz, saying, “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the S out of them,” according to Yingst.
The US President also confirmed that Washington maintains a back channel with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), with US officials reportedly communicating directly with IRGC representatives despite heightened tensions.
Trump said preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon remained the top priority for Washington. On US military preparedness, he described the weapons used so far as “peanuts” and said the United States had a substantial stock of mid-level weapons available. He also claimed that several advanced weapons systems had been provided to Ukraine by former President Joe Biden.
Trump also spoke about the Israel-Hamas conflict, saying his son-in-law and negotiator Jared Kushner had met Hamas chief Khalil Al-Hayya in Egypt. He said Washington maintained a separate channel with Hamas and claimed the group was giving up its weapons.
According to Trump, Israel should refrain from carrying out strikes in Gaza because Hamas had agreed to lay down its arms. He also praised Israel’s military capabilities, saying, “They fight very well alongside our forces.”
On Israel’s elections scheduled for October, Trump said he believed it was appropriate for him to stay out of the contest, although he left open the possibility of endorsing a candidate.
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