"In 10 minutes": Trump says one or two Iranian sites are still in play
Trump singled out a suspected underground complex as Iran's supreme leader ordered a wider target list. No fresh US attack decision has been announced, and Qatar and Pakistan are still mediating.
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Nov 1, 06:00 UTC ·
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Follows Report: U.S. Told Allies to Brace for Iran Strikes After the Vote, Trump Threatens Iran Strike "Tomorrow" as Tehran Says It Will Reopen Hormuz, Report: Trump Told Netanyahu to "Go Ahead and Get Ready" on Iran.
US President Donald Trump has named an Iranian site that could face attack, while Tehran threatened retaliation without geographic limits, raising the stakes for efforts to prevent renewed fighting. [1][2]
Speaking to reporters on October 31, Trump said the United States still had "one or two sites" in Iran to address and could do so "in 10 minutes". He identified Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected underground nuclear complex where Iran's government denies nuclear work takes place. [1]
Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, ordered military commanders to update their target list to cover American and Israeli assets. Any level or type of threat, he said in a statement posted on his website, should meet an "immediate, impactful and geographically unrestricted response". [2]
The exchange puts a specific potential US target alongside an Iranian threat to widen the battlefield. The US-Israeli war on Iran began in February and has driven up global energy prices. Iran has restricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a route that normally carries around one-fifth of global oil consumption. [1][2]
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier that Trump had not decided whether to launch fresh strikes. No new attack order or operational timetable has been announced, and Tehran's statements do not establish that it has begun a new response. [1][2]
A named target, a wider threat
Trump said the United States had knocked out Iran's nuclear programme and much of its military. Those were the president's assertions, rather than independently established findings. His identification of Pickaxe Mountain nevertheless gives a concrete focus to a threat that he presented as quick to execute. [1]
A short operation would not necessarily produce a short confrontation. Khamenei said that, if military or terrorist attacks resumed, Iran's armed forces and people would decide when they ended and on what terms. He directed commanders to include "all types of tangible and intangible assets belonging to the American-Zionist enemy" in their updated target list. [2]
That language leaves Iran's threatened response deliberately broad. It specifies neither a boundary nor a narrow class of targets, giving Washington and Israel little public reassurance that another exchange could be contained.
Iranian army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia made the geographic warning explicit: "The flames of war will undoubtedly engulf a much wider geographical area." Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi separately warned on X that there would be no more "red lines". These are statements of intent, not evidence of what Iran can or will carry out. [1]
The statement attributed to Khamenei followed what RTÉ described as his first reported meeting with senior military commanders. He has not been publicly seen since becoming supreme leader after his father was killed in US-Israeli strikes at the start of the war, according to RTÉ. [2]
Messages still pass between the two sides
Qatar and Pakistan are continuing to mediate, though no lasting agreement has been reached. Trump described negotiations as going fine while also saying Iran was not reliable. [1]
Araghchi offered a more limited description of the diplomatic contact. He said no meetings with US officials were planned and that Iran's conditions were being discussed among mediators. [1]
Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei said he had read a letter from US Vice-President JD Vance but had not replied. He described the change in Washington's tone as a good sign. Rubio, meanwhile, said the United States preferred a diplomatic solution, although it could achieve its military objectives if it chose to act. [1]
There is a channel for messages, then, but no announced face-to-face meeting. The practical opening is for mediators to turn those messages into terms both governments can discuss before public threats make compromise harder.
Hormuz remains central to that effort. Rezaei said Iran would maintain its blockade until its conditions, including the release of frozen assets, were met. [1]
Elections sharpen the timetable
The latest statements came ahead of the US midterm elections on November 3. Israel voted on October 27, with Benjamin Netanyahu's political camp winning the most seats but falling short of a parliamentary majority, leaving the next government uncertain. [1]
The public exchange follows earlier warnings about preparations. The Daily Inference reported on October 29 that two diplomats said regional allies had been told to prepare for a possible days-long operation and retaliation against critical infrastructure, while Trump had made no final decision.
The paper reported on October 13 that unnamed US officials described discussions about possible joint attacks on Iranian nuclear and military sites. A White House official denied that the leaders had discussed resuming the war.
Those earlier accounts describe preparations and disputed discussions. Trump's latest remarks add his public identification of a potential target, while Rubio's statement keeps the decision to use force separate from the ability to do so. [1]
The story so far 8 pieces since October 13, 2026, in order
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