Iran War Day 247: After Talking to Netanyahu, Trump Says U.S. Should Hit Iranian Sites

The Iran War State of the Union: The Islamic Republic continued to issue stark warnings against any attack. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) President Donald Trump told reporters Saturday that the U.S. achieved military success against Iran but still needs to strike nuclear sites. “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 said. “You probably could look at Pickaxe Mountain, and you have to take care of that. We can do that all very quickly.” Iranian officials continued to issue stark warnings against any attacks. Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Saturday that Iranian forces would “deliver devastating blows to the aggressor using new weaponry.” Earlier the same day, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had instructed military commanders to drop any “geographical limitations” to its retaliatory strike plans. Vice President J.D. Vance has reached out to Rezaei, a hardliner, proposing talks between the U.S. and Iran. Trump, who is mulling new strikes on Iran after the midterm elections this Tuesday, has backed the diplomatic outreach. Despite the escalating rhetoric, negotiations between Iranian officials and Qatari mediators on Sunday continued for a third consecutive day in Doha. Tehran continues to insist that the U.S. abide by conditions set out in the memorandum of understanding, the framework peace deal signed in June that quickly fell apart. Saturday brought signs that ongoing talks are yielding progress toward a deal. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera that the delegations in Doha had managed to shorten the implementation period for Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, from seven to two days. Araghchi called America’s recent diplomatic initiative a “positive step” but downplayed reports that the U.S. and Iran could soon engage in direct talks. Subscribe Today Get daily emails in your inbox Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed for more strikes on Iran and dismissed the possibility of any meaningful agreement between Washington and Tehran. Netanyahu and Trump spoke by phone on Saturday morning. Analysts have pushed back on Netanyahu’s reported claims that another round of devastating strikes would topple the Islamic Republic. Iran’s strikes during the fighting initially targeted early-warning systems, clearing the way for attacks on troop housing and other military assets, according to an analysis by the Associated Press published on Saturday. Other recent analyses, including by the Wall Street Journal, have found that Iranian strikes on U.S. assets in the region grew more effective as the war progressed. Gasoline prices remain elevated but continued to decline on Sunday. The average price of regular gas in America was $4.17 per gallon.