Trump Says US Could Strike Iran's Remaining Nuclear Sites Within Minutes as Talks Continue

At a Halloween party at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, President Donald Trump told reporters that the United States still needs to hit "one or two sites" in Iran, and that the strikes could be carried out within minutes. He said talks with Tehran were "going fine," but called the Islamic Republic "not very reliable." He singled out Pickaxe Mountain, a site that Western intelligence reportedly suspects of holding nuclear material. According to the report, US forces have not targeted it during the conflict.

The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that Trump spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday while Washington weighed renewed military action. The call followed discussions earlier in the week between Trump and senior military officials at the White House on options for resuming major combat operations.

The diplomatic track is running alongside those deliberations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking after the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Georgia, said engagement with Tehran remains active, both directly and through intermediaries. He said Washington is open to a diplomatic settlement. He would not give a timeline or say how the negotiations are going.

Tehran has signalled some interest. Iran says the US has "completely shifted tone" in a letter from Vice President JD Vance proposing negotiations. Mohsen Rezaei, the country's top security official, called the shift a positive sign and claimed Iran had secured a victory. The letter was reportedly delivered through Qatari mediators and sets out a framework for talks under Vance's leadership, with Iran's nuclear programme on the agenda. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also described the outreach as a positive step and raised the possibility of talks in Doha or Istanbul within a week.

The warnings from Iran's leadership are blunt. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said that if enemies launch military or terrorist attacks again, it is Iran's armed forces and its people who will determine the time and conditions for their end. Al Jazeera reported that he told the public and military commanders that he is in charge and that the country can defend itself. In what the report called an unusual announcement since the war began, he convened army commanders and urged them to upgrade capabilities, strengthen weapons systems and prepare for possible conflict. He also told the armed forces to widen the geographic range of potential targets and draw up a list of Israeli and American targets, both physical and non-physical.

Rezaei, who is National Security Council Secretary, went further in a state television interview on Saturday. He said Iran could withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if another war breaks out, and that its military would deliver severe blows to the United States. He said it was uncertain whether Iran would remain in the treaty in that event. He added that diplomacy during wartime falls under the Supreme National Security Council, while the Foreign Ministry handles it in peacetime.

Elsewhere, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan met Japan's Toshimitsu Motegi on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta. According to the Saudi foreign ministry, they discussed threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb and their effect on energy security, trade and supply chains. They also condemned continuing Iran-backed Houthi attacks on Saudi territory.

Inside Iran, the strain is visible. Morteza Haji, a former education minister under reformist President Mohammad Khatami, told the outlet Tabnak that younger Iranians are distancing themselves from the political discourse of earlier decades, and some blame reformist politicians for the present situation. He quoted critics, including people close to him, as saying: "You brought us to this point. You caused what happened, and you still haven't stopped." He called the economy the most pressing problem, said hopelessness cannot be answered with statistics, urged that restrictions on Khatami be lifted, and asked how long Iran should keep making sacrifices over its nuclear programme and wars.

What to watch now is whether the Vance-led talks actually begin, perhaps in Doha or Istanbul, and whether either side acts on its threats if fighting resumes.