US can ‘close down’ Iran at any time: Trump

WASHINGTON, Nov 2: The US president has been speaking at his 30th �" and final �" midterm rally in Salina, Kansas, where he told the audience that Washington has “dominated” Iran and “we can close them down anytime we want”.

“We’re trying to be nice �" sometimes you don’t do that. We’re trying to be a little nice but I think, you know, it’s going to be very close. We’re just going to close them down. That’s going to be the end of it,” Trump added.

He told Republican supporters that the US war on Iran has not finished because he wants “to be nice” and “try and save all those lives if I can”.

“But at some point, we’re going to have to give them the hammer,” he warned.

AFP adds: US President Donald Trump held a call with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu over when and whether to ramp up combat operations against Iran, US media reported Sunday.

Axios quoted one US and one Israeli official saying the two leaders on Saturday discussed the state of negotiations with the Islamic republic, with Netanyahu pressing the president to launch strikes on Iran immediately after the US midterm elections and Trump eager to let negotiations play out.

The Israeli source described the call as "tough," while the American source said it was "direct," according to Axios.

The Trump-Netanyahu talks followed the disclosure Saturday by Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei that he had received a letter from US Vice President JD Vance seeking to revive stalled talks. �" AGENCIES