President Donald Trump said the United States could “take care of” one or two Iranian sites in 10 minutes, while Iran warned of an immediate response to threats without geographic limits.
Trump made the remark at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday, Oct. 31, after asserting that U.S. forces had disabled Iran’s nuclear program. He did not name the sites, explain what the 10-minute estimate measured or confirm an order to strike. In a later exchange, he mentioned Pickaxe Mountain but did not identify it as one of the sites. The Associated Press (AP) described the site near Natanz as under construction and reported that what had been installed there was unclear. EconoTimes previously covered Trump’s reference to Pickaxe Mountain as a possible U.S. target.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi told the U.N. Security Council on Oct. 27 that the agency had found no repair or reconstruction work at facilities damaged in attacks in 2025 and 2026. Without access, he said, the IAEA could not verify their actual condition. Iran’s previously declared nuclear material included 440 kilograms of highly enriched uranium; the agency could not verify its current status or rule out diversion. Trump’s June 21, 2025, statement named Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan as sites the United States had struck.
A directive posted on the official Telegram channel of Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei called for an immediate response to threats without geographic limits. The post said a revision to Iran’s military target database would add physical and nonphysical assets associated with what it called the “US-Zionist enemy.”
AP reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a mediator-backed proposal could restore passage through the Strait of Hormuz in two days, as Iranian diplomats held discussions in Qatar. Araghchi said Iran was not planning a meeting with U.S. officials; AP reported that talks depended on Washington accepting Iran’s conditions.
Two diplomats told AP that no decision on further strikes had been made and that regional governments were urged to prepare for possible action after the Nov. 3 midterms. AP also reported that a Pentagon estimate put the cost to U.S. taxpayers at $47.1 billion as of Oct. 16. The elections are the next date cited in the possible-strikes report, which did not say an attack was scheduled.
