WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Saturday that negotiations with Iran are “going fine” and that the United States is in no rush to conclude them, arguing that American military strikes have already left Tehran with little ability to threaten U.S. forces while diplomacy continues.
“They are going fine. But, you know, they’re not very reliable,” Trump told reporters at a Halloween event at Mar-a-Lago, according to a Factba.se transcript published by Roll Call. “They make a deal and then they back out. I want to make a deal.”
The president said the administration can afford patience. “We’re not in that much of a hurry from the standpoint that we’ve knocked down their Navy, we’ve knocked out their air force, we’ve knocked out their anti-aircraft,” he said, as quoted by Fox News and the Washington Examiner. He said the U.S. could still strike “1 or 2 sites” if needed, “but we can do that in ten minutes,” and named the Pickaxe Mountain site.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the same day that Trump “hasn’t made a decision” on whether to resume strikes and prefers a diplomatic outcome, Fox News reported. Speaking at a meeting of Group of 20 foreign ministers in Atlanta, Rubio described Iran as “at the center of all the instability” in the region and said Iranian weapons of mass destruction “will never be allowed to happen.” The White House was asked for further comment on the state of the talks.
The administration’s case
Administration officials have paired the talks with continued economic and military pressure. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott warned Tehran of “consequences,” according to Fox News.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is “back to pre-conflict levels minus Iranian barrels,” and he argued that “the world can live without Iranian oil,” Fox News reported. U.S. Central Command has said 144 vessels have been redirected under the U.S. blockade of Iranian shipping.
The conflict began Feb. 28, when the United States launched strikes under the name Operation Epic Fury. In his remarks Saturday, Trump pointed to the destruction of Iran’s navy, air force and air defenses as the reason the United States can negotiate from a position of strength.
Iran’s position
Iranian officials struck a different tone on Saturday. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran had no need to meet directly with the Americans and that the Strait of Hormuz could reopen within two days under Iran’s proposal, Fox News reported. Iranian negotiators are in Doha, where Qatari officials are mediating.
Mohsen Rezaei, a senior Iranian official, laid out seven conditions for an agreement, and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned of an “unrestricted response” to any renewed attack, according to the same report.
Pressure at home
Some of the president’s allies want faster results. Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., said he was frustrated with the pace of the process, Fox News reported.
Trump’s comments came three days before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. The administration’s stated aim, as Rubio put it Saturday, is to ensure that Iranian weapons of mass destruction are never allowed, with diplomacy as the preferred route.
The Washington Inquisitor sent requests for comment to the White House, the Treasury Department, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Heritage Foundation. Any responses will be added to this story.
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