Trump Says One or Two Iranian Sites Remain as He Questions Tehran’s Reliability

U.S. President Donald Trump said one or two sites in Iran remained to be dealt with and that Washington already had a plan, while questioning whether Tehran could be trusted to keep an agreement. Answering questions at a Halloween event at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, he said Iran wanted a deal and reiterated that it would not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons. Trump initially described the negotiations positively, before arguing that Iran failed to stand by agreements. “They make a deal and then back out,” Trump said. He said the United States was in no hurry. He attributed that position to what he described as the destruction of Iran’s navy, air force, air defenses, production capabilities and nuclear program. Trump asserted that the remaining sites could be addressed in ten minutes. He did not identify those sites or announce a date for action in the reported exchange. The remarks followed his October 30 comments in the Oval Office during a meeting with Stephen Hubbard. In that earlier exchange, Trump said talks were taking place and that Iran wanted to talk, while maintaining that Washington had time. He also claimed that Iran was struggling to pay soldiers and police. Both exchanges presented his assessment of Iran’s position and the military campaign, rather than independent verification of those claims.