US President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States “might have to go after” Pickaxe Mountain, a site linked to Iran's nuclear program, and warned that renewed fighting could occur if Tehran does not reach a deal with Washington, in an interview with Fox News.
US Vice President JD Vance said Monday that Washington had made progress toward a potential negotiated settlement with Iran and would continue working toward an agreement.
A Qatari delegation was heading to Tehran on Monday as part of diplomatic efforts to reduce regional tensions, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported, citing an informed Iranian source.
A US fighter jet destroyed an IRGC surface-to-air missile launcher on Qeshm Island Monday night in self-defense after the IRGC fired a missile at a US aircraft in the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported, citing a US official.
Iran wants to reach an agreement with Washington and a deal could be possible, President Donald Trump said Monday.
The Iranian foreign ministry on Monday ruled out the possibility of enriched uranium leaving the country and said Tehran was not yet discussing conditions for renewed International Atomic Energy Agency inspections.
The United States attacked Iran's Qeshm Island on Monday as part of a series of limited strikes Washington has secretly carried out against Iran in recent weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials.
Amirhossein Maleki and Amirhossein Ebrahimi were hanged in connection with January protests in Isfahan, Iranian authorities said on Tuesday.
Mizan, the judiciary-linked news agency, alleged that the protesters had been armed and that the Supreme Court had upheld their death sentences.
A police employee was killed in Saravan, in Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan Province, IRGC-linked Fars News reported on Tuesday, calling the incident a “terrorist attack.”
The officer was identified as Third Lieutenant Hojjat Vafakardeh. Police and security forces were continuing efforts to identify and arrest those responsible, with further updates to follow, state media reported.
US President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States “might have to go after” Pickaxe Mountain, a site linked to Iran's nuclear program, and warned that renewed fighting could occur if Tehran does not reach a deal with Washington, in an interview with Fox News.
“We might have to go after Pickaxe. We can do that in one hour, as soon as we want, at any time we want,” Trump said.
Trump did not rule out renewed fighting with Iran. “It could happen if they don’t make a deal, but they want to make a deal very badly and there is a very good chance we make a deal,” he said.
“If I can make a deal, I’d rather do it — save a lot of lives,” Trump added.
Trump's remarks came shortly after the US military carried out limited defensive strikes against Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz. The US military destroyed an IRGC surface-to-air missile launcher on Iran's Qeshm Island Monday night after the IRGC fired a missile at a US aircraft in the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported, citing a US official.
Oil prices rose in early Asian trading Tuesday after a report that the United States struck Iran's Qeshm Island raised concerns about an escalation of the eight-month conflict and prolonged disruptions to Middle East oil supplies.
Brent crude futures rose 48 cents, or 0.5%, to $105.25 a barrel by 0104 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 47 cents, or 0.5%, to $96.93 a barrel, Reuters reported.
The rise followed a sharp drop on Monday, when Brent settled 7.63% lower at $104.77 a barrel.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States struck Qeshm Island on Monday, citing US officials. Some officials described the strikes as defensive and aimed at preventing Iran from having the freedom to attack commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
The US military destroyed an IRGC surface-to-air missile launcher on Iran's Qeshm Island Monday night after the IRGC fired a missile at a US aircraft in the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported, citing a US official.
The US fighter jet eliminated the launcher in self-defense, the official said.
The Wall Street Journal separately reported that the United States attacked Qeshm Island on Monday as part of a series of limited strikes Washington has secretly carried out against Iran in recent weeks.
Some US officials described those strikes as defensive and aimed at preventing Iran from having the freedom to attack commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that disruptions affecting the Strait of Hormuz have highlighted the need to develop reliable alternative routes for international trade, in an interview with South Korea's Yonhap News Agency ahead of a state visit to Seoul.
“The current crisis has once again demonstrated just how vital it is to develop reliable alternative routes for international trade,” Erdogan said.
Erdogan called for greater South Korean involvement in Turkey's transport and logistics infrastructure projects as risks to global energy markets and international trade routes increase.
He pointed to Turkey's efforts to strengthen transport and logistics links between Asia and Europe, including plans to revive the historic Hejaz Railway.
The United States attacked Iran's Qeshm Island on Monday as part of a series of limited strikes Washington has secretly carried out against Iran in recent weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials.
Some US officials described the strikes as defensive and aimed at preventing Iran from having the freedom to attack commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Explosions were reported around Qeshm Island on Monday, according to Iranian state media.
Unlike earlier in the war, the United States has not publicly announced the attacks. One US official told the Journal that Washington has deliberately kept the campaign quiet to avoid signaling an intention to resume major combat operations.
Qeshm, at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, is home to a large underground missile site, a naval base and a major desalination plant, according to the Journal. The United States previously targeted the island during earlier rounds of fighting.
The previously undisclosed strikes come as President Donald Trump has played down the prospect of renewed large-scale fighting with Iran after Tuesday's midterm elections.
“We had a war with Iran. We won,” Trump told reporters Monday. “I don’t know if you even call it a war because we haven’t been doing any fighting for months.”
Asked Monday whether he was considering striking Iran after the midterms, Trump said “no,” although administration officials told the Journal that he was still weighing his options.
Mohammad-Amin Aghamiri, secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council of Cyberspace, warned employees of three companies he identified as Axon, Unigen and Migos to leave their jobs, accusing the firms of cooperating with Israel’s military industries, in an interview with state television Monday.
Aghamiri said the companies were part of a network of AI startups working with Israeli military industries, particularly the aerospace sector.
“We know who is engaged in what activities,” Aghamiri said. “We say explicitly that the hands of these people are stained with the blood of the people.”
He accused the companies of playing a role in military operations and assassinations and urged their employees to leave. “I think those who work at these companies should decide on their future as soon as possible, leave and not continue their cooperation,” he said.
Asked whether the three companies were directly involved in assassinations and identifying targets, Aghamiri said they provided military industries with products used for such purposes and had contracts with them.
He warned employees to distance themselves from the companies, saying parents should also tell their children that working for such organizations was wrong.
Asked what would happen if the employees continued their work, Aghamiri mimicked US President Donald Trump, saying: “We will see what happens.”
Aghamiri was appointed by then-President Ebrahim Raisi in 2023 with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s approval.
US President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran wants to make a deal to end the eight-month war and that an agreement “could happen,” claiming the US was “easily winning” and that Iran’s navy and air force were “gone.”
CIA Director John Ratcliffe is advising US President Donald Trump to maintain a “no war, no deal” approach toward Iran and allow the economic pressure campaign to continue, Axios reported Monday, citing sources.
Ratcliffe told Trump that prolonged economic pain will induce Iran to make further concessions or create enough instability inside the country for citizens to revolt, according to a source with direct knowledge cited by Axios. The CIA declined to comment.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are also advocating maintaining the status quo, while Vice President JD Vance and White House envoy Steve Witkoff are urging Trump to move toward a deal, according to the report.
Trump told Axios he was “in no rush” to decide whether to resume fighting with Iran. “One way or the other, we will do something, but there is no rush. We crippled them financially. They have no money, no gasoline and their people are getting very tired of it,” he said.
“We are talking to them. It's going fine,” Trump added. “There's less urgency [on the Iranian side] than you think there would be, but they want to make a deal more than they ever wanted.”
Qatari mediators have drafted an agreement outlining a three-day sequence of confidence-building measures aimed at resuming direct US-Iran negotiations, Axios reported, citing regional sources. Qatari mediator Ali al-Thawadi traveled to Tehran on Monday to continue talks on the proposal.