As the 60-day memorandum of understanding with Iran expired on Monday, President Donald Trump delivered a blunt message to the regime, while warning that if Oman gets in the way of U.S. efforts in the Strait of Hormuz, “we’ll bomb the sh*t out of them.”
Speaking with Fox News, the president said Iran should “put up the white flag of surrender.” He said he has “no time schedule” and is “not in a hurry,” while emphasizing that Oman must not interfere. The ongoing naval blockade, he made clear, will keep grinding economic pressure on the regime even as Iranian officials talk tough in public.
Trump described the Iranians as “good poker players, but they’re dying.” The blockade is already exacting a real cost, and the domestic midterms are irrelevant to how he forms his approach. He confirmed that American officials are maintaining a direct back channel with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, speaking not only with the political leadership in Tehran but with the IRGC officials themselves.
On the military side, the president called what the United States has used so far against Iran “peanuts.” The U.S. still holds significant hoards of mid-level weapons, he mentioned.
The same interview turned to Gaza and the wider Iranian proxy network. Trump said the United States has a different channel with Hamas. His son-in-law and envoy Jared Kushner met the previous day in Egypt with Khalil al-Hayya, the current Hamas chief.
According to the president, Hamas has agreed to ultimately give up its weapons as part of talks on demilitarizing the strip. For that reason, he said, Israel shouldn’t be conducting strikes in Gaza right now.
Kushner is in Jerusalem on Monday meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials, joined by Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, to press the next phase of the U.S. plan.
When asked about Israel’s October elections, Trump said he thinks it’s appropriate to stay out of them, though he may still endorse a party. He described Israeli forces as fighting very well alongside American ones and referred to Israel as the little brother of the United States. Any resumed combat operations in the region, he indicated, would be led by the United States with Israeli support.
Trump also addressed the Houthis in Yemen. Last week, the Iran-backed group launched multiple attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and struck Yemen’s Mocha Port with enough missiles and drones that authorities were forced to halt all commercial activity. He had previously warned the Houthis against becoming directly involved. He likewise mentioned Hezbollah in southern Lebanon as part of the broader network Tehran has funded for decades.
On Truth Social, President Trump wrote that preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon remains the top priority for the United States. The blockade is already costing the Iranian regime hundreds of millions of dollars each day. Additional Treasury sanctions are expected this week, adding more domestic pressure on officials in Tehran.
The 60-day window that expired Monday is largely irrelevant to Trump’s strategy. He has no timeline and is prepared to keep the naval blockade in place while direct talks with the IRGC proceed.
