Trump: One or two nuclear sites remain, “but we can do that in ten minutes”

The latest:

The Strait of Hormuz could fully reopen within two days under a proposal discussed with mediators, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday, according to The Associated Press. The statement landed as Iranian negotiators met Qatari mediators in Doha. Hours later, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Donald Trump has not decided whether to resume strikes on Iran, but prefers a diplomatic outcome.

Details:

• The proposal: Araghchi said talks with mediators produced a formula that could reopen the waterway within two days, AP reported. He added that Tehran has no immediate plans to meet American officials directly, leaving Qatar as the channel between the two sides as negotiations continue in Doha.
• The earlier offer: Iran had previously proposed reopening the strait within a week if Washington lifted its blockade of Iranian ports, released frozen Iranian assets and eased restrictions on oil exports, according to AP. The United States rejected that package, the news agency reported.
• The US position: Rubio said Saturday, ahead of the midterm elections, that Trump has not made a decision on resuming strikes. He framed a negotiated settlement as the administration’s preference, without setting any deadline for a choice between diplomacy and renewed military action.
• Trump on talks: Speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach on Saturday night, Trump said negotiations are going fine but questioned Tehran’s reliability, saying Iran makes deals and then backs out. He said he wants an agreement and would wait to see whether Iran delivers one.
• The military threat: Trump said the US is in no hurry to resume strikes because American forces have degraded Iran’s navy, air force, air defenses and military manufacturing. He said only one or two nuclear sites remain, adding: “but we can do that in ten minutes.” He named Pickaxe Mountain, an underground nuclear facility, as a potential target, without saying what would trigger a decision.
• The fuel cost: Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday that Trump has been very upfront with Americans about the war’s impact on fuel prices, describing the increase as a short-term consequence. She did not estimate how long elevated prices would last.
• Regional spillover: The US Embassy in Riyadh urged Americans in Saudi Arabia to exercise extreme caution around airports, citing continuing Houthi attacks and travel disruptions. A military court in Lebanon charged 13 people Friday over a seized truck carrying explosives belonging to Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group.
• Trump’s end-game: Trump said Friday the war against Iran will end very soon and repeated that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. He has not set out what verification or terms Washington would require to consider that condition satisfied.

Background:

The Strait of Hormuz is the chokepoint for a large share of globally traded seaborne crude. Its disruption during the war has fed higher fuel prices in the United States, turning a maritime closure into a domestic political issue weeks before the midterm elections.

Between the lines:

Two tracks are running at once. Tehran is attaching Hormuz to sanctions relief after Washington rejected its first package, while Trump pairs talk of a deal with a reminder that one or two remaining nuclear sites could be hit in minutes. His description of degraded Iranian air defenses functions as leverage inside the Doha channel rather than a schedule for strikes, and Rubio’s undecided framing keeps both options formally open.

What’s next

Watch whether Hormuz reopens within the two-day window Araghchi described, whether Qatari mediators convert the proposal into a text, and whether Trump announces a decision on resuming strikes before the midterm elections.