Trump says Iran strikes unlikely if peace talks keep moving

In an interview with US broadcaster CNN, President Donald Trump sought to downplay fears that the US was about to relaunch its military campaign against Iran.

"It depends on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement," he told CNN on Sunday. "The answer is highly unlikely it's going to be necessary."

At the same time, Trump restated that the US military was "ready" to launch a new round of strikes and could "finish [Iran] off."

"I've got three aircraft carriers here," he said. "They're fully locked and loaded."

He added that the US military had 38 bridges in their sights "that we can knock down in literally one hour."

However, Trump also repeated several times that the new escalation is "highly unlikely," saying that Iran was a "failing nation" and "withering away financially" after eight months of hostilities.

"I hit them so hard. You don't know how hard I hit them," he said. "They want to make a deal so badly."

Trump ordered an attack on Iran in late February, after US ally Israel launched what it called a "preemptive strike" on its biggest regional rival.

The US president has since repeatedly declared victory, insinuated that Iran was begging the US for a deal, and told the media that a peace deal was done or nearly done.

Iran has repeatedly rejected Trump's account. Despite Trump's claims that Iran was collapsing both economically and militarily, Tehran has been able to repeatedly stage attacks on US allies in the region and maintains at least a partial blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

The Houthi rebels in Yemen, allied with Tehran, are currently targeting high-profile targets in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and elsewhere across Saudi Arabia.

The most tangible diplomatic achievement since the start of the war was reported in June, when Iran and the US signed a memorandum of understanding in Islamabad. But the talks broke down and the memorandum expired in August, with the two sides still engaged in a military and diplomatic stalemate.

The conflict has proven to be unpopular with the US public, featuring heavily in the campaign for US midterm elections that saw Trump's Republicans lose their majorities in Congress on November 3.

On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said peace talks had been paused since the midterm elections. Araghchi described the outcome as a "shock."

"We now have to see how long it will take for them to digest these results, in order to determine how we are going to move forward," he said.

Qatar, which has acted as one of the mediators in the conflict, denied rumors that the US and Iran are failing to reach a peace deal. On Saturday, the Qatari prime minister said both sides were still working toward an agreement.

Separately, the Reuters news agency cited a senior Iranian official as saying that Tehran has submitted a proposal on its nuclear program to Washington through Qatar.