Trump, who clashed with Starmer over Iran and other hot-button issues, trashed the unpopular Labour Party leader before wishing him well.
President Donald Trump on Sunday said the United States will take control of the Strait of Hormuz, collecting tolls and 20% of the oil that flows through the waterway if negotiations between Washington and Tehran in Switzerland fall through. Vice President JD Vance is meeting with Iranian officials on Sunday to finalize the terms of […]
“Lots of Killing going on in Chicago…Why isn’t [Illinois] Governor [JB] Pritzker calling me for help?” President Trump wrote on Truth Social early Sunday.
Talks in Switzerland between the US and Iran were still ongoing despite Iranian media reports that negotiators had left the venue, according to people familiar with the matter.
President Donald Trump's account of a phone call he says he had with Iranian officials, in which he reportedly threatened to wipe out their country, take over the Strait of Hormuz, and more, has set off a wave of disbelief, ridicule, and alarm across the political spectrum.The threats were relayed by Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst, who said he spoke with Trump for more than 20 minutes and came away with what he called "new insight" into the president's posture as nuclear talks opened in Switzerland. According to Yingst, Trump described what he told the Iranians about the strait in blunt terms. "You close it and you won't have a country," Trump said he warned them. "You won't even make it back to your f------ country." Yingst added that Trump said, "We may take over the Strait, if we have to."The response from Trump's critics was immediate and caustic. Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, who served briefly in Trump's first term before becoming a frequent antagonist, summed up his reaction in three dry words. "Normal Presidential behavior," he wrote, sharing a MeidasTouch post that reported Trump had told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, after Pezeshkian said Iran would not give up enrichment, "He better watch his mouth ... or we will take over the rest of the country."Journalist Aaron Rupar, who posted Yingst's full segment, catalogued the threats without restraint. "We'll take over the rest of your country ... I'll blow the s--- out of them," Rupar quoted, describing the "bonkers phone call" as one that "apparently included threats to assassinate Iran's leadership, impose draconian US tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, and occupy Iran with the US military."Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California zeroed in on the practical and legal emptiness of the threats. "US troops would die during any ground invasion of Iran," Lieu wrote. "It would also be brazenly illegal without Congressional authorization." He warned that seizing the strait would trap American forces in a quagmire, adding that "Iran would try to kill them every day in a forever war." His conclusion was that Tehran is not impressed: "Iran knows these are empty threats by Trump."Some questioned whether the call even happened as described. Author and Iran expert Hooman Majd, who has written extensively about the country and served as an informal interpreter for past Iranian presidents, flatly disputed the premise. "President Trump did not speak with an Iranian official and say anything of the sort directly to him," Majd wrote. He then floated a mocking theory about how Trump might be staging these confrontations: "Is it possible the WH staff has arranged for a Persian-accented staffer to man a phone for Trump to call whenever he wants to yell at an 'Iranian official'?"Notably, the criticism was not confined to the left. David Pyne, a self-described America First analyst who posts as @AmericaFirstCon, called the president "completely unhinged" and accused him of "threatening to assassinate Iran's diplomatic representatives and invade, conquer and occupy all of Iran." Pyne, who opposes new wars, argued the bravado was hollow. "His threat to take over all of Iran is a bluff since he's reportedly afraid to invade Iran knowing that it would lead to thousands of US military servicemembers being killed in action," he wrote, adding that even committing the entire active-duty Army and reserves "likely wouldn't be enough to conquer all of Iran without a US nuclear first strike."The threats were also amplified, approvingly, by right-wing accounts. Commentator Nick Sortor, whose post was boosted by conservative legal activist Mike Davis, framed the same language as a triumph. "HOLY CRAP! President Trump issued a DIRECT THREAT to Iranian negotiators in Switzerland," Sortor wrote, presenting "You close [the Strait] and you won't have a country" as evidence of strength rather than instability.US troops would die during any ground invasion of Iran. It would also be brazenly illegal without Congressional authorization.And if US troops took over the Straight, Iran would try to kill them every day in a forever war.Iran knows these are empty threats by trump. https://t.co/x3ZDeY52Zt— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) June 21, 2026
President Donald Trump appeared to threaten Iranian peace negotiators with assassination Sunday in a “bonkers” phone call with Fox News’ Trey Yingst, the details of which Yingst revealed on air just moments later.Last week, Trump officially agreed to a tentative peace deal with Iran, giving the two parties 60 days to finalize a more permanent agreement to end hostilities. Vice President JD Vance arrived in Switzerland Sunday to meet with an Iranian delegation of negotiators led by Speaker Mahammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghci.However, after Iranian military officials announced on Saturday that they would, again, close the Strait of Hormuz due to violations of the tentative peace deal, Trump suggested, Yingst said, that the Iranian negotiators may not “make it back” to their home country.“President Trump tells Fox News he spoke with Iranian officials overnight and said ‘you close it and you won’t have a country,’” Yingst said, recalling his phone call with Trump held moments earlier. “He went on to tell these officials, ‘you won’t even make it back to your f---ing country.’”Whether Trump’s remarks suggested he may order the Iranian negotiators assassinated before their return home remains unclear, though multiple Iranian negotiators have been assassinated throughout the duration of the U.S. war against Iran, such as Ali Larijani, the former speaker of the Iranian Parliament who was killed in March in an Israeli airstrike."We'll take over the rest of your country ... I'll blow the shit out of them" -- here is Trey Yingst's entire segment about the bonkers phone call he says he had with Trump this morning that apparently included threats to assassinate Iran's leadership, impose draconian US tolls… pic.twitter.com/RLi9bos14Q— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 21, 2026
President Donald Trump unleashed a flurry of threats, promises and ideas Sunday in a phone call with Fox News’ Trey Yingst, the details of which left one independent journalist in utter shock.The phone call occurred Sunday morning, just one day after Iranian military officials announced they would be closing the Strait of Hormuz again, citing violations of the tentative peace deal agreed to by Washington and Tehran last week. As Trump’s coveted peace deal imploded in real time, the president issued a series of threats and statements that independent journalist Aaron Rupar described as “bonkers.”“President Trump [told] Fox News he spoke with Iranian officials overnight and said ‘you close it and you won’t have a country,’” Yingst said on Fox News, recounting his phone call with the president that occurred just 20 minutes earlier. “He went on to tell these officials, ‘you won’t even make it back to your f---ing country.’"Trump also responded to recent comments from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who said that Iran would not give up its right to enrich uranium, which has a wide list of non-military applications.“President Trump [told] Fox News [Pezeshkian] better ‘watch his mouth,’ he better ‘shape up or we’ll take over the rest of the country,’” Yingst said, recalling his call with Trump.“He said ‘I have a 60-day option, and I can do whatever I want after that option,’ so again, President Trump leaving a variety of considerations on the table.”According to Yingst, Trump also floated a new idea – one that would involve a U.S. takeover of the Strait of Hormuz.“President Trump [told] Fox News that the U.S. may take over the strait in the future, if they have to, and collect tolls,” Yingst said this weekend. “The president described this as the United States being the ‘guardian angel’ of the Strait of Hormuz and the Middle East, and the president said that would involve the U.S. taking 20% of the oil that passes through the strait.”"We'll take over the rest of your country ... I'll blow the shit out of them" -- here is Trey Yingst's entire segment about the bonkers phone call he says he had with Trump this morning that apparently included threats to assassinate Iran's leadership, impose draconian US tolls… pic.twitter.com/RLi9bos14Q— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 21, 2026
President cites 'two very important subjects' leading to political crash
President Donald Trump on Sunday said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer “will resign” and ripped the Labour leader over his immigration and North Sea oil policies. “Keir Starmer will resign as Prime Minister of The United Kingdom,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He failed badly on two very important subjects- IMMIGRATION AND ENERGY (OPEN NORTH […]