On a Saturday at his Florida residence, President Trump told reporters that the United States had one or two targets left to strike in Iran, perhaps including a suspected underground nuclear complex called Pickaxe Mountain, even as he described talks with Tehran as moving along. It is the familiar rhythm of a long confrontation, where force and diplomacy are held in the same hand and neither is quite put down. Iran denies any nuclear activity at the site, and the government in Washington has not yet decided what comes next, so the question hangs between a settlement and another round of war.
Trump Says US Has 'One or Two Targets' Left in Iran as Talks Continue
Trump says the remaining targets could be dealt with in ten minutes
Mark
Trump said one or two targets are left. Why does that line matter?
Mimi
Because it frames the war as nearly finished while keeping force available. He said the remaining sites could be handled in ten minutes, which makes renewed strikes sound easy.
Mark
And at the same time he says talks are going fine?
Mimi
Yes, though he immediately called Iran unreliable, saying they make a deal and then back out. So the optimism came with a warning attached.
Luke
I'd flag that "we've knocked out their nuclear" is Trump's claim. The reporting here doesn't offer independent confirmation of the damage.
Mark
What about Pickaxe Mountain specifically?
Mimi
It's described as a suspected underground nuclear complex. Iran denies any nuclear activity there.
Luke
Right, so the word "suspected" is doing real work. Nothing in this account verifies what's inside it.
Mark
Rubio seemed to strike a different note.
Mimi
He said Trump hasn't decided on new strikes and that diplomacy is still open. That sits oddly beside the talk of ten-minute operations.
Luke
And the timing is only loosely sourced. The Supreme Leader's warning followed threats of action after the midterms, but no date or plan has been given. It's a threat, not a schedule.
Der Puls
- Trump says only one or two Iranian targets remain, and he named the suspected underground site Pickaxe Mountain as one of them.
- Talks with Tehran are described as going fine, yet Trump calls the Iranians unreliable and says they make deals and then back out.
- Secretary of State Rubio says no decision on fresh strikes has been made, keeping military action and negotiation both open.
- Iran's Supreme Leader has warned the US and Israel against further attacks, raising the stakes for renewed strikes after the midterms.
On a Saturday at his Florida residence, President Trump told reporters that the United States had one or two targets left to strike in Iran, perhaps including a suspected underground nuclear complex called Pickaxe Mountain, even as he described talks with Tehran as moving along. It is the familiar rhythm of a long confrontation, where force and diplomacy are held in the same hand and neither is quite put down. Iran denies any nuclear activity at the site, and the government in Washington has not yet decided what comes next, so the question hangs between a settlement and another round of war.
Standing before reporters at his Florida residence on Saturday, President Donald Trump said the United States still had "one or two" targets left to strike in Iran. One of them, he suggested, was a suspected underground nuclear complex known as Pickaxe Mountain. Iran has denied any nuclear activity there.
In the same breath, Trump described negotiations with Tehran as active and "going fine," while also calling the Iranians unreliable. He insisted Iran will never have a nuclear weapon and said whether Tehran truly wants a deal "we'll find out."
Earlier that day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said no decision had been made on fresh strikes and that diplomacy remained open. The war, launched by the US and Israel at the end of February, has left Iran's military and nuclear infrastructure badly damaged by Trump's account, but the Supreme Leader has warned against further attacks, and Trump's threats of renewed action after the midterms keep the outcome uncertain.
Standing before reporters at his Florida residence on Saturday, President Donald Trump said the United States still had "one or two" targets left to strike in Iran. One of them, he suggested, was a suspected underground nuclear complex known as Pickaxe Mountain.
The remarks came while he was also describing negotiations with Tehran as active. Asked how the talks were going, he said they were "going fine," then added that the Iranians were "not very reliable," and that they make a deal and then back out. On the nuclear question he was categorical: Iran, he said, will never have a nuclear weapon. Whether Tehran truly wants a deal, he said, "we'll find out."
Trump also claimed the US had already destroyed Iran's nuclear capability. Some sites remained, he said, perhaps one or two, but he said they could be dealt with in ten minutes. On Pickaxe Mountain he said it was something you could probably look at and that it would have to be taken care of, and that it could be done very quickly. The Iranian government has denied that any nuclear activity is taking place at the site.
The statements landed on a day when Washington was sending mixed signals about what comes next. Earlier on Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump had not yet made a decision on fresh strikes against Iran, and that the United States remained open to a diplomatic solution. Military action stayed on the table, but so did negotiation.
The backdrop is a war that the US and Israel launched against Iran at the end of February. Trump has repeatedly said the campaign badly damaged Iran's military and nuclear infrastructure, and he has insisted that Tehran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon. He had also said previously that he was weighing whether to "finish them off," which kept open the prospect of another round of strikes even as he spoke of a settlement.
Iran's Supreme Leader responded to that pressure, warning the US and Israel against launching further attacks. His warning followed Trump's threats of renewed military action after the US midterm elections.
What the reporting does not settle is considerable. The claim that Iran's nuclear program has been knocked out is Trump's own assessment, as is the estimate that the remaining sites could be handled in minutes. Pickaxe Mountain is described only as suspected, and Iran denies the allegation. For now, the thing to watch is whether Trump's decision on new strikes, which Rubio says has not been made, is shaped by the talks he calls fine or by the elections that his own threats were tied to.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. They want to make a deal; we'll find out about that.— President Donald Trump
The president has not decided on fresh strikes, and the US remains open to a diplomatic solution (paraphrase).— Secretary of State Marco Rubio
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