“They should put up the white flag of surrender,” Trump said.
By United with Israel Staff
President Donald Trump renewed his warning to Iran on Monday as the 60-day ceasefire deadline expired, declaring that Tehran must abandon any pursuit of nuclear weapons while confirming that backchannel talks are underway with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“The number one Goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a Nuclear Weapon,” Trump wrote Monday.
Speaking separately to Fox News, Trump confirmed reports that his administration has established a direct backchannel with the IRGC, bypassing traditional mediators and elements of Iran’s political leadership.
“They should put up the white flag of surrender,” Trump said.
Despite the expiration of the 60-day period set out in the June memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran, Trump indicated that he was not setting an immediate deadline for further action.
“I have no time schedule,” Trump said. “I’m not in a hurry.”
“They’re good poker players, but they’re dying,” he added.
Iran, however, responded with a warning of its own.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran had decided to shift its posture from defensive to offensive and had established a final deadline of several weeks for Washington to fully implement the June memorandum.
“Tehran has decided to change its policy from defensive to offensive,” the official said, adding that the United States and regional governments would be informed of Iran’s timetable through mediators.
“We will not wait for the United States to continue the naval blockade indefinitely,” the official said, arguing that relying on mediators to secure a permanent agreement was “unrealistic.”
The escalating rhetoric comes as the 60-day window envisioned for Washington and Tehran to negotiate a permanent settlement expired Monday without a final agreement.
Trump also issued a stark warning to Oman, which has played a central role as an intermediary in negotiations surrounding Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.
“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the s— out of them,” Trump said when asked about Muscat’s role in the talks.
Despite the continued diplomatic contacts, the competing statements underscored the widening gap between Washington and Tehran. Trump is demanding that Iran permanently relinquish any path toward a nuclear weapon, while Iranian leaders are signaling that they are prepared to escalate militarily if their demands under the June agreement are not met.
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