US President Donald Trump on Monday called on Iran to surrender as efforts to revive negotiations between Washington and Tehran remained stalled.
Speaking to a Fox News reporter by telephone, Trump said Iran should accept defeat and surrender in order to bring the conflict to an end.
The comments came as an earlier understanding between the United States and Iran appeared to have collapsed. An interim agreement reached in June called for an immediate and permanent halt to military operations, but the arrangement later broke down. Trump declared the agreement over on July 7, while Iran’s Foreign Ministry said a week later that it had been suspended.
Under the June memorandum of understanding, the two countries had agreed to negotiate a comprehensive agreement within 60 days, with the possibility of extending the deadline by mutual consent. Monday marked the end of that initial 60 day period.
The proposed negotiations were expected to address broader issues, including the future of Iran’s nuclear programme.
Strait of Hormuz Dispute
The conflict has also intensified concerns over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial global shipping route through which about one fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed before the US Israeli attacks on Iran began in late February.
Oman and Iran have separately been holding discussions aimed at restoring commercial shipping through the strategic waterway.
Trump, however, issued a sharp warning to Oman, threatening military action if he believed the country was obstructing efforts concerning the strait.
The dispute over the waterway has contributed to rising fuel prices and increased pressure on the Trump administration to find a way to end the conflict.
The war comes months before the November US midterm elections, in which voters will determine control of Congress. Trump dismissed suggestions that the approaching elections were influencing his approach to Iran.
“Midterms have nothing to do with my thinking,” Trump told Fox News.
Earlier on Monday, Trump reiterated his stated justification for the conflict in a post on his Truth Social platform, saying his primary objective remained preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
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