OMM Newsroom
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the US could strike Iran’s remaining suspected nuclear facilities in “10 minutes,” raising the possibility of further military action despite ongoing diplomatic negotiations, according to Anadolu Agency.
Speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump said US military operations had severely weakened Iran’s armed forces and nuclear infrastructure, leaving only a few sites to target.
“We still have to take care of, I would say, one or two sites, but we can do that in 10 minutes. So, we have that plan,” he said.
“You probably could look at Pickaxe Mountain, you have to take care of that. We can do that all very quickly,” Trump added, referring to a suspected Iranian nuclear facility.
Trump was asked whether there was a timeline for the ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran, mediated by Qatar. He said the US was not in a hurry to reach an agreement and claimed American operations had destroyed much of Iran’s navy, air force, air defences, military equipment and nuclear infrastructure.
Asked whether Washington could resume military operations against Iran as soon as this week, Trump did not give a direct answer.
“Why would you ask such a stupid question?” he said, adding: “I can’t tell you.”
Trump reiterated Washington’s opposition to Iran obtaining nuclear weapons. “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. They want to make a deal; we’ll find out about that,” he said.
Describing the negotiations as progressing, Trump expressed doubt about Tehran’s reliability. “They’re going fine, but they’re not very reliable. I will tell you, they make a deal and then they back out. They want to make a deal. We’ll see if they make a deal,” he said.
His comments came after Iranian negotiators met Qatari mediators in Doha on Saturday, following talks in Tehran on Friday aimed at finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
Tensions in the Middle East have remained high since the US and Israel launched attacks against Iran on Feb. 28, prompting Iranian retaliation across the region.
