‘We can do it in 10 minutes’: Trump signals fresh US strikes on Iran, names Pickaxe Mountain

Amid reports of renewed military consultations between Washington and Israel over possible strikes against Iran, US president Donald Trump said on Saturday that American forces could strike one or two remaining Iranian nuclear sites within 'ten minutes'. He claimed that the US had already 'knocked out' Iran's nuclear capabilities, but said some targets remained to be dealt with.Speaking to reporters at a Halloween party at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, Trump said the US had yet to deal with one or two targets, specifically referring to the underground facility known as Pickaxe Mountain.“We've knocked out their nuclear. We still have to take care of, I would say, one or two sites, but we can do that in ten minutes,” Trump said.Trump specifically pointed to one or two remaining high-priority nuclear targets in Iran, including the fortified underground installation known as Pickaxe Mountain.“You probably could look at Pickaxe Mountain, and you have to take care of that. We can do that all very quickly,” he added.Despite the military warning, Trump indicated that Washington remained open to a negotiated settlement with Tehran. He also reiterated that Iran would not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. However, he questioned Iran's reliability in the discussions.“Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. They want to make a deal; we'll find out about that,” he said.Asked about the progress of negotiations, Trump said, “They're going fine, but they're not very reliable. They make a deal and then they back out.”The US President's remarks came amid escalating rhetoric from Tehran, with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei warning that any threat from the United States or Israel would invite an immediate response.According to Iran's official IRNA news agency, Khamenei said that “any kind and level of threat” from Washington or Tel Aviv should be met with an immediate response, without geographical limitations.Iranian state media reported that Khamenei made the remarks during a meeting with military chiefs.Khamenei has not appeared publicly since the war began with US and Israeli strikes on February 28. He assumed the position of supreme leader after the initial wave of attacks killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with several other senior Iranian officials.Trump, Netanyahu hold telephone conversationEarlier, Trump reportedly spoke with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu by telephone on Saturday morning, as Washington assessed options for potentially resuming military operations against Iran.According to The Wall Street Journal, which cited people familiar with the conversation, the two leaders discussed the situation amid preparations for possible renewed strikes. The call followed a White House meeting earlier in the week at which Trump consulted senior military officials on options for restarting major combat operations, the newspaper reported.However, Washington has not announced any decision to launch fresh attacks.Rubio says diplomatic talks remain activeUS secretary of state Marco Rubio earlier said diplomatic engagement with Iran had continued, even as the administration considered its military options. Speaking on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, Rubio declined to set a deadline for negotiations or assess their progress.“There are multiple talks; talks have actually never stopped. There's been active conversations going both in some cases directly, but often through intermediaries,” Rubio said.He added that Washington remained open to a diplomatic agreement, provided it addressed American security concerns.“I'm not gonna characterise either the progress on those talks or any timeframe on it other than to tell you that if there is a diplomatic solution, we would be open to it,” he said.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.