Trump Says He Is 'In No Hurry' on Iran, Puts Remaining Targets at 'One or Two Sites' as Rubio Says No Strike Decision Made

Since Operation Epic Fury began on Feb. 28, the U.S.-Iran war has stretched past seven months, with talks now running through Qatari mediators in Doha. The latest development came Saturday night, Oct. 31, when Trump took questions at his Mar-a-Lago Halloween party.

Trump: 'We're not in that much of a hurry'

Trump said negotiations "are going fine," then undercut his own optimism. "They're not very reliable. I will tell you. They make a deal and then they back out. I want to make a deal. We'll see if they make a deal," he said.

He argued the U.S. has time because American forces have already hit Iran's core capabilities. "We've knocked down their Navy, we've knocked out their air force, we've knocked out their anti-aircraft," Trump said.

He put the remaining nuclear work at "1 or 2 sites." He also threatened to strike "Mount Pickaxe" again, a site the U.S. says houses a nuclear facility.

Earlier Saturday in the Oval Office, Trump called it "a war, but it's not a typical war." He claimed Iran is "not paying their soldiers, they're not paying their police." That claim came from Trump, and no independent figure backs it.

Rubio: no decision on resuming strikes

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that Trump has not decided whether to resume strikes and prefers a diplomatic outcome.

That is a softer line than the one Trump used on Oct. 23 at a rally in Fort Myers, Florida. "We may do another little Epic Fury, or they'll agree," he told the crowd.

Before that rally, special envoy Tom Barrack said a U.S. strike "absolutely" could come as early as that weekend. Trump's response was, "If that's the case, I don't know anything about it."

Tehran's position

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday that a proposal discussed with mediators could allow the Strait of Hormuz to fully reopen within two days. Iran's earlier offer was a one-week reopening, tied to demands that Washington lift its blockade of Iranian ports, release frozen Iranian assets and ease limits on Iranian oil exports. The U.S. rejected that offer, according to the Associated Press.

Araghchi said Tehran has no immediate plans to meet American officials directly.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Vice President JD Vance sent a letter to Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei, on Trump's instructions, to restart negotiations and head off more U.S. strikes. Araghchi told Al Jazeera that Washington's effort to open a dialogue "is a positive step." He added that if the letter was meant "to stir up discord, it would be yet another mistake."

He also said Iran does not rule out "any possibility regarding the outbreak of war" and that its forces are "at the highest level of readiness."

Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei met senior commanders and ordered that "every level and type of threat must be confronted with an immediate, effective, and unrestricted geographical response." He said that if attacks resume, "it is the armed forces of the Islamic Republic and the people of Iran who will determine the time and conditions for ending them."

Armed forces chief of staff Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi said Iran would answer any attack with "immense force."

The party and the politics

The event was the annual members-only Halloween gathering at Mar-a-Lago, themed this year as a jungle. Trump arrived around 8 p.m. with the White House press pool. Pool reporter Katherine Doyle of The Washington Post described a ballroom lit green, with guests in cheetah, leopard and tiger prints.

Trump said he spent about 10 minutes getting ready. "These people spend a lot of time and money, rich people. And they spend nine hours getting ready. I had ten minutes. So I came as Donald Trump," he said.

The Daily Beast framed the party as out of touch, since it came three days before midterm elections in which voters cite affordability as a key issue. The outlet noted that last year's Great Gatsby-themed party, held during a weeks-long government shutdown, drew criticism for ostentation. It also attributed Trump's slide in popularity partly to his seeming dismissive of tariffs, fuel prices and cost-of-living increases. The Daily Beast offered no polling figures.

Vice President Vance marked the holiday separately, posting a family photo in which he dressed as Dumbledore.

What is open

Trump has set no deadline for Tehran and has not said what would trigger renewed strikes. Rubio says no decision has been made. Iran says it can reopen Hormuz in two days if its demands are met, but Washington rejected the earlier version of that offer.

Voters go to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 3. Whether the administration resumes strikes or reaches a Hormuz deal in the days around that vote has not been announced by either side.