President Donald Trump waves at a campaign rally at the Ocean Center, in Daytona Beach, Fla. Photo | AP
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Trump says US still has to 'take care' of one or two targets in Iran

Trump maintained that negotiations with Iran to end the war that the US and Israel began at the end of February were "going fine but you know they're not very reliable."

AFP

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States has knocked out much of Iran's military but it still has to "take care of" one or two targets including a suspected nuclear site known as Pickaxe Mountain.

Trump maintained that negotiations with Iran to end the war that the US and Israel began at the end of February were "going fine but you know they're not very reliable."

The US president reiterated that the US was not in a hurry to take offensive action because it had decimated Iran's military and nuclear program.

"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," Trump told reporters at his Florida residence.

"You probably could look at Pickaxe Mountain, and you have to take care of that. We can do that all very quickly," he added, referring to a suspected underground nuclear complex.

The Iranian government has denied any nuclear work is carried out there.

Earlier Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump has not made a decision about fresh strikes on Iran and that the United States would be open to a diplomatic solution.

Iran's supreme leader on Saturday warned the United States and Israel against launching new attacks, following threats to resume strikes after elections.

Trump has warned of the potential for fresh military action after US midterms, saying previously that he was weighing up whether to "finish them off."

Meanwhile, Iran's supreme leader on Saturday warned the United States and Israel against launching new attacks on the country following their threats to resume their strikes after crucial elections, as fears mount over a return to fighting.

President Donald Trump has suggested he could launch fresh military action after the United States holds midterm elections early next week, though Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday said that "if there is a diplomatic solution, we would be open to it".

In Israel, which is coming off a general election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken of a "historic, one-time opportunity" to topple the Iranian government.

Polls in both countries could determine the direction of the conflict, with Israel having voted on Tuesday but yet to form a new government.

"Any level or type of threat must be met with an immediate, impactful and geographically unrestricted response," Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei told top military commanders in a meeting, according to a statement. The encounter was the first reported meeting between Khamenei and military top brass.

The supreme leader has not been seen publicly since before he took the helm in March, after the killing of his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes.

Khamenei also ordered commanders to update Iran's target list to include "all types of tangible and intangible assets belonging to the American-Zionist enemy".

Iran has previously warned it would consider severing undersea cables in the Strait of Hormuz.

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