Trump Dangles More Iran Strikes as Peace Talks Fizzle Out

President Donald Trump spent Halloween at Mar-a-Lago talking war — and hinting there's more to come. According to ABC News, he suggested future strikes could target Pickaxe Mountain while brushing off any urgency to close a deal with Tehran. The U.S. has no hard timetable for negotiations, he said, because so much of Iran's military punch is already gone.

Trump ticked off the damage: Iran's navy, air force, anti-aircraft systems and, in his words, almost every piece of military equipment the country had. He added that much of Iran's manufacturing capability and nuclear sites were hit too. One or two sites remain, he said, and the U.S. could handle those in ten minutes.

The fighting hasn't stopped entirely, and neither has the finger-pointing. U.S. officials told ABC News that strikes on Qeshm were defensive in nature. Washington says it is enforcing a naval blockade on Iran's Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman ports, while Iran claims it controls the strategic Strait of Hormuz and keeps claiming attacks on ships passing through.

Talk of peace is going nowhere fast. The U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding in June aimed at ending the war, but negotiations have since stalled. The conflict opened in February with joint American-Israeli strikes that killed a host of top Iranian officials and commanders, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran's leaders are talking tough. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that Tehran is ready for both defense and diplomacy, with Iranian and Qatari representatives discussing a possible peace deal. Defense Minister Mehrdad Akhlaghi promised an immediate, effective and proportionate response to any threat, anywhere, without geographical limits. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and a key adviser to current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said new strikes would draw devastating retaliation.

Trump has said the U.S. won't launch fresh attacks until after the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Meanwhile, Yemen is burning hotter: fighting has intensified between Saudi-backed Yemeni forces and Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have repeatedly hit Saudi military sites, oil infrastructure and transport facilities.