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The 60-day ceasefire deadline is expiring Monday, but President Donald Trump’s resolve on ending Iran’s nuclear weapons aspirations is not, he told Fox News on Monday morning, where he confirmed there is a backchannel for peace talks with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“They should put up the white flag of surrender,” Trump said in a phone interview, confirming reports of the IRGC backchannel talks that bypass mediators and Iranian political officials.
While the 60-day ceasefire expires Monday, Trump said there is still time for peace and Iran’s relenting to Trump’s primary demand: “The number one Goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a Nuclear Weapon,” as he wrote on Truth Social around the time of the exclusive call with Fox News’ Trey Yingst.
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“I have no time schedule,” Trump told Yingst. “I’m not in a hurry.”
While Trump has long lamented reaching peace with a fractured Iranian regime that has had multiple levels of leadership killed in past strikes, he confirmed U.S. officials are communicating directly through a backchannel with IRGC officials.
“They’re good poker players, but they’re dying,” Trump said.
While speculation swirls Iran is engaging in its decades-long strategy of running out the political clock on Trump, before the midterms, if not 2028, Trump rejected the suggestion that politics is guiding his military strategy as commander in chief.
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“Midterms have nothing to do with my thinking,” he told Yingst.
Trump also issued an extraordinary warning to Oman when asked about the Gulf nation’s role in talks involving Iran.
“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the s— out of them,” Trump said.
The president then turned to Israel, where he said he believes it would be most appropriate for him to remain on the sidelines of the country’s elections — while simultaneously leaving open the possibility that he could back a candidate.
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“I think it’s most appropriate for me to stay out of Israeli elections, but I may endorse somebody,” Trump said.
Trump also said Israel should not be carrying out strikes in Gaza, as efforts continue to advance the next phase of a plan that would include the disarmament of Hamas.
“We have our own relationship with Hamas,” Trump said. “They are giving up their guns.”
Despite Israel’s rejection of trusting the Hamas terrorist group, Trump suggested he could work peace both with a disarming Hamas and Israel.
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“They fight well with us,” Trump reiterated to Yingst.
Trump also pushed back on concerns over the strain the conflict might be placing on U.S. weapons stockpiles, playing down the amount of American firepower used so far.
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“What we’ve used is peanuts,” Trump said. “We have a lot of mid-level weapons.”
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