Trump demands Iran ‘put up the white flag of surrender’ as MoU expires

President also claims US is in direct contact with IRGC, denies a rush to end conflict ahead of November’s US midterm elections.US 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 Iran" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="38678" data-entity-type="event">US-Israel war on Iran. The call is just the latest in the rhetorical tit-for-tat between the US and Washington as mediators continue to work to try to bring the parties back to the negotiating table.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Can Trump really make Strait of Hormuz a US territory?list 2 of 3‘Limited options’ for many Iranians as war with US chokes economylist 3 of 3Iran says no decision yet on a return to talks with the USend of listTrump 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.Threat to OmanRather, 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.