US President Donald Trump said Saturday night that Iran was seeking an agreement with Washington but questioned Tehran's reliability, while warning that the United States could quickly strike the remaining Iranian nuclear facilities.
Speaking to reporters during a Halloween party at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump reiterated that he would not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.
"Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. They want to make a deal; we'll find out about that," he said.
Asked about the progress of negotiations, Trump expressed skepticism about Iran's willingness to honor any agreement.
"They're going fine, but they're not very reliable. They make a deal and then they back out. They want to make a deal. We'll see if they make a deal."
The President also indicated that Washington was under no immediate pressure to conclude the Qatari-mediated negotiations, citing the damage already inflicted on Iran's military capabilities.
"We're not in very much of a hurry from the standpoint that we've knocked out their navy. We've knocked out their air force. We've knocked out their anti-aircraft. We've knocked out almost every piece of military equipment they have. We've knocked out their nuclear. We still have to take care of, I would say, one or two sites, but we can do that in ten minutes. You probably have to look at Pickaxe Mountain. We could do that all very quickly."
Trump declined to disclose whether he was considering renewed military operations against Iran in the coming days.
When a New York Times reporter asked whether he expected to return to war with Iran as early as this week, Trump responded sharply.
"Why would you ask such a stupid question? Let's say I did - would I tell you? I can't tell you things like that."
His remarks came hours after The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had spoken with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday about the situation involving Iran, as the administration continued evaluating possible military action.
Meanwhile, sources involved in mediation efforts told the Qatari newspaper Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that negotiations taking place in Qatar had made progress.
The United States has not confirmed the reported diplomatic developments.