Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei delivered a warning on Friday amid U.S. preparations for a possible resumption of strikes after the Nov. 3 midterm elections
In a meeting with senior commanders, Khamenei ordered preparations for a response he described as immediate and unconstrained by geography, according to a report by The Hill, citing Iran’s IRNA news agency.
Trump Says US Has to Take Care of ‘One or Two Sites’
He also instructed military leaders to refresh targeting lists so U.S. and Israeli assets—both physical and non-physical—would be within reach.
In parallel, President Donald Trump told reporters in Palm Beach on Saturday that negotiations with Iran are going fine, while also arguing the U.S. could neutralize “one or two sites” quickly.
Trump’s weekend comments mixed diplomacy with a pointed reference to a location he said should be addressed, naming Pickaxe Mountain. Western intelligence has identified Pickaxe Mountain as a likely nuclear-material storage site, and the U.S. has not hit it during the conflict.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday at a G20 press conference in Atlanta that Trump had not made a decision on restarting strikes. Rubio also said the president prefers to pursue a negotiated outcome and has not set a deadline for diplomacy.
Those diplomatic signals came as multiple outlets on Friday described U.S. notifications to several Arab countries to brace for a short campaign after the elections, with new attacks potentially following quickly.
Could US Strikes Resume After Midterms?
Trump had said earlier in the month he would avoid launching attacks before the midterms, even as he faced pressure to scale back the war amid higher energy prices and other conflict-related costs. At a rally last week, he suggested the U.S. “may do another little Epic Fury” if Iran does not meet U.S. demands.
“If they’re smart, they’ll just say, ‘Let’s get down to business,’” Trump said at that rally. “But, you know, I doubt they’ll do that because perhaps they’re not smart.”
CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper also briefed Trump this week on the Iran war and military options.
Iran has also kept the negotiation channel open, at least publicly, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posting on Wednesday that “Iran continues to give diplomacy a chance to succeed.” He said Tehran was communicating with intermediaries about speeding up implementation of its seven-day plan.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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