▲ U.S. President Donald Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump has ratcheted up renewed threats of a strike, saying that there are still a couple of targets left to "deal with" in Iran.
According to AFP and other outlets, President Trump spoke with reporters on October 31 (local time) at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, stating that while the U.S. has neutralized a significant portion of Iran's military power, "there are a couple of places we still have to deal with, but we can do it in 10 minutes."
President Trump mentioned Pickaxe Mountain, known as a major underground Iranian nuclear facility, as a place that needs to be "dealt with," adding, "We can do that very quickly."
These remarks came amid escalating speculation of a strike against Iran "right after the election," with the midterm elections—which hold major stakes for the second term of the Trump administration—just three days away.
Regarding negotiations with Iran involving mediating countries, he said, "It's going well," but added, "They're not very trustworthy. We'll see if we make a deal."
This statement came right after Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned the previous day at the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting that President Trump has not yet decided whether to re-attack Iran and prefers a diplomatic solution.
Earlier, U.S. media outlet MSNow reported that the Trump administration had notified Gulf allies to prepare for airstrikes on November 4, the day after the midterm elections.
Iran has signaled a hardline response.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Khamenei instructed the military on this day, saying, "We must respond to any level or type of threat with an immediate, powerful, and geographically unrestricted countermeasure."
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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