Iran live updates: Trump hints at future strikes on Pickaxe Mountain, downplays war

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament who led Tehran's delegation in peace talks with the U.S. earlier this year, said on Tuesday that the onus is now on the U.S. to prevent a return to war after Iran delivered what he called a "firm and rational response" in ongoing negotiations.

"Just as the Islamic Republic of Iran stands ready for battle with its finger on the trigger, it has also delivered a firm and rational response to the American side. The ball is now in America's court to prevent war," Ghalibaf said in comments carried by Iran's state-run television network, IRIB.

"Meanwhile, from the military and defensive point of view we are at the highest level of preparedness," Ghalibaf added.

-ABC News' Nasser Atta and Othon Leyva

President Donald Trump on Monday night defended the U.S. war in Iran and floated more action against Iran's nuclear program.

Trump's comments came as U.S. forces conducted what two American officials told ABC News were defensive strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.

Speaking with Fox News' Sean Hannity, Trump downplayed the war and asserted that the U.S. had not attacked Iran in some time.

Trump also said the U.S. "might have to go after" a facility buried under Iran's Pickaxe Mountain, which is in Iran's Isfahan region and just to the south of the Natanz nuclear complex. The president has repeatedly threatened action against the site.

"We might have to go after Pickaxe, but that's not a big deal. We can do it. And literally we can do that in one hour. Okay? As soon as we want, at any time we want," Trump said.

The president downplayed the conflict, which began with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes in February. "Well, when was the last time we fired anything? This isn't a war. This is a very soft war," Trump said. He continued, "This is not much of a war, Sean, because there hasn't been shooting for months."

-ABC News' Nicholas Kerr

The United States carried out defensive strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, two U.S. officials told ABC News.

The airstrikes do not signal the resumption of major combat operations against Iran, but were the latest limited strike carried out by U.S. forces in recent weeks, an official said.

In recent weeks, Iran has increased the number of attacks directed at commercial ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.

First reported by the Wall Street Journal, the airstrikes were limited in scope and characterized as defensive strikes, the two U.S. officials said.

Monday's U.S. airstrikes on Qeshm Island were in response to an Iranian attack on a U.S. aircraft, said one official.

-ABC News' Luis Martinez

President Donald Trump said that he is in "no rush" to make a decision on whether to resume strikes against Iran in a call with Axios.

During a phone call with an Axios reporter on Monday, the president said, according to the outlet: "One way or the other, we will do something, but there is no rush. We crippled them financially. They have no money, no gasoline and their people are getting very tired of it."

Trump again stated that the U.S. was "talking to" Iran, Axios reported.

"We are talking to them. It's going fine. The problem with them is ... they try and tap tap tap [us along]. There's less urgency [on the Iranian side] than you think there would be, but they want to make deal more than they ever wanted," Trump said, according to the Axios report.

-ABC News' Nicholas Kerr