ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – US President Donald Trump has threatened renewed military action against Iran, saying Washington may eventually have to “give them the hammer,” as the US and Israel reportedly prepare for possible strikes after Tuesday’s midterm elections.

"And the only reason why I'm not finished with Iran is I want to be nice. I want to try and save all those lives if I can...But at some point we're going to have to give them the hammer," Trump told a campaign rally in Iowa ahead of the midterm elections scheduled for Tuesday.

The US and Israel are reportedly preparing for possible renewed strikes on Iran after the November 3 US midterm elections. The White House said on October 22 that the US would not resume attacks before the vote.

Trump’s remarks come as Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has warned that Iran's military would respond to any missteps by the US or Israel with a response that is "geographically unrestricted."

Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff Ali Abdollahi has also said his forces are "constantly updating our target database" in preparation.

Among the potential targets Trump has mentioned was Pickaxe Mountain, south of the Natanz nuclear complex, where nuclear material is believed to be stored.

"You probably could look at Pickaxe Mountain, and you have to take care of that. We can do that all very quickly,” he said.

The US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire in April, largely halting hostilities, before reaching a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in June aimed at negotiating a permanent peace deal. The agreement collapsed 21 days later, as hostilities resumed and both sides targeted each other's interests in the region.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that February's US-Israeli war on Iran was instrumental in hampering Iranian ambitions to produce a nuclear weapon, despite Tehran's insistence that its nuclear program was intended for entirely civilian purposes.