Peace Negotiations Stall, Trump Urges Iran to Surrender!
United States (US) President Donald Trump has urged Iran to surrender in order to end the conflict with the US. The call was made as peace negotiation efforts between the two countries were marked by deadlock.
“They should wave the white flag of surrender,” Trump said in a recent telephone interview with Fox News reporters, as reported by Reuters on Tuesday (18/8/2026).
The interim agreement signed by Washington and Tehran in June established an “immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts”.
However, the agreement quickly collapsed when Trump announced that it was “over” on 7 July. Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the agreement was “suspended” a week later.
Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU), the US and Iran committed to negotiating a final agreement — covering broader issues such as the fate of Iran’s nuclear programme — within a maximum of 60 days, which could be extended by mutual agreement.
Monday (17/8) marked the end of the 60-day deadline since the MoU was signed by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Trump Threatens to Bombard Oman if It Blocks the Opening of the Strait of Hormuz
Separately, Iran and Oman held talks in an effort to reach an agreement to restore commercial shipping activity in the Strait of Hormuz, the vital shipping lane through which 20 per cent of global oil and gas supplies passed before war erupted in late February.
Responding to the talks, Trump threatened to strike Oman if the country obstructed a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“If Oman gets in the way, we will bomb them to smithereens,” Trump said in the Fox News interview.
The dispute over control of the Strait of Hormuz has triggered a rise in fuel prices and put pressure on Trump to end a war that is strongly opposed within the US.
In a statement via Truth Social on Monday (17/8), Trump stressed that Iran cannot obtain nuclear weapons under any circumstances.
“The primary objective is — and will always be — that Iran must not possess nuclear weapons in any shape or form,” the US President asserted, repeating one of the reasons he has previously given to justify US military operations against Iran.