Trump says US still has one or two targets to strike in Iran

President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States has knocked out much of Iran's military, but still has to deal with one or two targets, including a suspected nuclear site known as Pickaxe Mountain. He spoke to reporters at his Florida residence.

Trump said: "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 10 minutes." On Pickaxe Mountain he said: "You probably could look at Pickaxe Mountain, and you have to take care of that. We can do that all very quickly." The Iranian government denies that any nuclear work is carried out at the site.

Trump said negotiations with Iran to end the war are going fine, but added that Iran is not very reliable. He said the US is not in a hurry to take offensive action. He also suggested he could launch fresh military action after the US midterm elections early next week. He has said the war will end very soon.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US has yet to decide on new strikes on Iran. He said: "If there is a diplomatic solution, we would be open to it." The US is sending 9,000 more troops and a third carrier to the Middle East.

On the Iranian side, security chief Mohsen Rezaei said the tone of a letter from US Vice President JD Vance had changed completely. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi welcomed Washington's latest attempt to reopen dialogue. Tehran said it is not yet ready for direct negotiations with American officials, and has ruled out immediate direct talks despite mediation efforts involving Qatar and Pakistan.

Supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned the US and Israel of fresh attacks on Saturday. He ordered commanders to update Iran's target list to include all types of tangible and intangible assets belonging to what he called the American-Zionist enemy. It was the first reported meeting between Khamenei and military top brass. He has not been seen publicly since before he took over in March, after his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes. Iran has previously warned it would consider severing undersea cables in the Strait of Hormuz.

Israel held a general election on Tuesday and has not yet formed a new government. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken of a historic, one-time opportunity to topple the Iranian government.

An Associated Press analysis found that Iran's strikes on more than two dozen US bases in the region focused first on early-warning systems before hitting aircraft and buildings. It found billions of dollars in equipment damage. Through August, more than 115 drone or missile strikes claimed by Iran or Iranian-backed militias damaged or destroyed structures on 26 military bases and other sites with US equipment.