Trump says he's sealed Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire, but fighting continues

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday that Thai and Cambodian leaders had agreed to renew a truce after days of deadly clashes, even as Thai and Cambodian officials suggested there is still work to do to get the ceasefire that the U.S. administration had helped broker earlier this year back on track.

Trump announced the agreement to restart the ceasefire in a social media posting following calls with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet.

“They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me, and them, with the help of the Great Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim,” Trump said in his Truth Social post.

The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday disputed Trump’s assertion that a ceasefire was agreed to without providing any details, and Thai defense ministry spokesperson Surasant Kongsiri said clashes were still ongoing. Cambodia’s defense ministry reported that Thailand continued to carry out strikes early Saturday. Those strikes could not be independently verified.

After speaking with Trump on Friday but before the U.S. president's social media posting, Anutin said he reiterated to Trump that Thailand’s position was to keep fighting until Cambodia no longer posed a threat to its sovereignty.

“I told him that he had better talk to our friend. Don’t just say that we have to stop fighting," Anutin said. "You should announce to the world that Cambodia will stop firing, will withdraw their forces, will clear all land mines. Please show us the actions.”

Trump wrote in his Friday social media post, “The roadside bomb that originally killed and wounded numerous Thai Soldiers was an accident, but Thailand nevertheless retaliated very strongly."

The comment was an apparent reference to recent land mine explosions along the border that triggered tensions between the two countries.

The Thai army reported multiple injuries from the explosions but no deaths and Anutin on Saturday refuted Trump's characterization.

“It’s definitely not a roadside accident," Anutin said Saturday morning on his Facebook account. "Thailand will continue to perform military actions until we feel no more harm and threats to our land and people. I want to make it clear. Our actions this morning already spoke.”

Trump, a Republican, said Malaysia's prime minister had played an important role in helping him push Thailand and Cambodia to once again agree to "resolving what could have evolved into a major War between two otherwise wonderful and prosperous Countries!”

The original ceasefire in July was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalized in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia that Trump attended.

Despite the deal, the two countries carried on a bitter propaganda war and minor cross-border violence continued.

The roots of the Thai-Cambodian border conflict lie in a history of enmity over competing territorial claims. These claims largely stem from a 1907 map created while Cambodia was under French colonial rule, which Thailand maintains is inaccurate. Tensions were exacerbated by a 1962 International Court of Justice ruling that awarded sovereignty to Cambodia, which still riles many Thais.

Thailand has deployed jet fighters to carry out airstrikes on what it says are military targets. Cambodia has deployed BM-21 rocket launchers with a range of 30-40 kilometers (19-25 miles).

According to data collected by public broadcaster ThaiPBS, at least six of the Thai soldiers who were killed were hit by rocket shrapnel.

The Thai army’s northeastern regional command said Thursday that some residential areas and homes near the border were damaged by BM-21 rocket launchers from Cambodian forces.

The Thai army also said it destroyed a tall crane atop a hill held by Cambodia where the centuries-old Preah Vihear temple is located, because it allegedly held electronic and optical devices used for military command and control purposes.

Trump has repeatedly made the exaggerated claim that he has helped solve eight conflicts, including the one between Thailand and Cambodia, since returning to office in January, as evidence of his negotiating prowess. And he's not been shy about his desire to be recognized with a Nobel Peace Prize.

In an exchange with reporters later Friday, Trump credited his administration with doing a “a very good job” with its push to stem the renewed fighting.

“And we got it, I think, straightened out today,” Trump said at an unrelated event in the Oval Office. “So Thailand and Cambodia is in good shape.”

Another ceasefire that Trump takes credit for working out, between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, is also under strain, just after the leaders of the African nations traveled to Washington to sign a peace deal.

A joint statement released by the International Contact Group for the Great Lakes expressed “profound concern” over the situation in Congo’s South Kivu region, where new deadly violence blamed on the Rwandan-backed M23 militia group has exploded in recent days.

The Great Lakes contact group — which includes Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States and the European Union — has urged all sides “to uphold their commitments” under the deal signed last week and “immediately de-escalate the situation.”

And Trump's internationally endorsed plan to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza is still not finalized and in limbo, with sporadic fighting continuing while a critical second phase remains a work in progress.

AP writer Jintamas Saksornchai reported from Surin, Thailand. Grant Peck in Bangkok and Matthew Lee contributed reporting.

President Donald Trump speaks during a signing ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump speaks during a signing ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump gestures during a signing ceremony on an AI initiative in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump speaks to guests in the Grand Foyer of the White House during the Congressional Ball, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

NEW YORK (AP) — The average price for a gallon of gasoline jumped 11 cents overnight in the U.S., and some drivers in Europe waited in line to fill their tanks with fuel, as war engulfed the Middle East and shipments of oil and gas were stranded in the Persian Gulf.

A gallon of regular was selling for $3.11 on average in the U.S., according to motor club AAA, surprising some drivers at the pump. Gasoline prices were already rising before the U.S. launched strikes on Iran as refiners switch over to summer blends of fuel. But crude prices rose sharply in recent days because of the war.

Anne Dulske paid $15 more than usual to fill up her tank at a Jackson, Mississippi gas station on Tuesday.

“It’s going to affect everything in our lives,” she said. “It’s very scary, and it does hit closer to home than people think.”

Dulske, who said she had previously noticed gas prices slowly going down, called the increase surprising and said she was caught off guard when she learned the United States and Israel had attacked Iran over the weekend.

“We are knee-deep into the gas price increases," said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, a technology company that helps people find cheap gasoline. DeHaan estimates gasoline price could rise further, but he doubts the price would reach $4 a gallon in the U.S. “Many Americans seem very panicked that prices could hit multiple dollars higher than that, which at this point, I wouldn’t say anything’s impossible, but certainly it’s quite improbable based on the current developments."

In a suburb of Paris, drivers waited in a queue of 15 cars to fill up at seven pumps, which were charging about 1.846 euros per liter (7 euros per gallon) of diesel Tuesday.

“I’m heading out to the countryside and I’m almost out of fuel," said Laurence Rihouay, a customer at a petrol station. "But there are a lot of people here. There’s never usually this many.”

On Tuesday, oil prices soared to levels not seen in more than a year as Iran launched a series of retaliatory attacks, including a drone strike on the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia.

Iran has also struck energy facilities in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and disrupted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil traded passes, sending global oil and natural gas prices soaring.

President Donald Trump addressed the rising prices in remarks in the Oval Office Tuesday. “We have a little high oil prices for a little while, but as soon as this ends, those prices are going to drop, I believe, lower than even before,” he said.

Drivers elsewhere were taking precautions.

“With Iran and the Strait of Hormuz effectively blocked, it is causing alarm everywhere and driving up oil prices," said Abdelilah Khalil, who was getting gasoline at a station outside Paris. "It’s panic on board, everyone is worried, and I think that’s why many people are rushing to gas stations to fill up.”

Back in the U.S., Brody Wilkins was filling up gas canisters in Jackson, Mississippi, when he noticed prices had increased to $2.99 a gallon. Wilkins, who works for a landscaping and construction company, said he’s concerned about how the increase will impact the business.

“We use gas nonstop,” Wilkins said. “I don’t know how long this is supposed to last, but I hope not very long.”

Benchmark U.S. crude jumped 8.6% to $77.36 a barrel Tuesday. Brent crude, the international standard, added 6.7% to $81.29 a barrel. Global oil prices jumped to start the week over concerns that the war will clog the global flow of crude.

The price of crude is the single largest factor in how much U.S. drivers pay for fuel. And higher oil prices are usually felt at the pump within a couple of weeks at most.

In Burlington, Massachusetts, prices at one gas station neared $4 on Tuesday.

Erin Kelly called the price tag “hefty” and said she paid more than $5 for premium gas. She was driving her father’s car Tuesday while hers is getting repairs and said she hopes to get her car back soon so she can go back to paying for regular gas.

“We already are paying more in the grocery store,” she said. “We’re paying even more than we were paying before at the gas pump. So, I don’t know, it’s a little concerning.”

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Associated Press journalists Nicolas Garriga in Paris, Sophie Bates in Jackson, Miss., Rodrique Ngowi in Burlington, Mass. and Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed to this report.

FILE - Fishermen work in front of oil tankers south of the Strait of Hormuz Jan. 19, 2012, offshore the town of Ras Al Khaimah in United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)

FILE- In this Wednesday, June 8, 2011 file photo, sun sets behind an oil pump in the desert oil fields of Sakhir, Bahrain. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali, File)