Trump to make Iran war decision 'within next two weeks:' White House
WASHINGTON
U.S. President Donald Trump holds out hope for negotiations and will decide whether to launch U.S. strikes on Iran within two weeks, the White House has said on June 19.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt announced, citing the president in a press briefing about the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel, "Based on the fact that there is a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision in the next two weeks," she quoted the president."
The White House has also confirmed that special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi have been in contact amid ongoing tit-for-tat attacks between Israel and Iran.
According to reports, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff has held several phone conversations with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi since Israel began its strikes on Iran last week.
Araqchi reportedly told Witkoff that Tehran would not return to talks unless Israel stops attacking. The diplomats also said the calls included a brief discussion about a U.S. proposal to establish a regional uranium enrichment consortium outside of Iran.
Israel's defense minister threatened Iran's supreme leader on June 19 after Iranian missiles crashed into a major hospital in southern Israel and hit residential buildings near Tel Aviv, wounding at least 240 people.
Iran said it was targeting an Israeli military and intelligence base, not the health facility.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz blamed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for the attack and said the military "has been instructed and knows that in order to achieve all of its goals, this man absolutely should not continue to exist.”
While it remained unclear whether Trump would task American forces to join Israel's campaign against Iran's military and nuclear program, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “I can tell you that they’re already helping a lot.”
U.S. officials said earlier this week that Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei. Trump later said there were no plans to kill him, “at least not for now.”
Hostilities began on June 13 when Israel launched airstrikes on several sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes
Israeli authorities said at least 25 people have been killed and hundreds injured since then in Iranian missile attacks.
Meanwhile, in Iran, 639 people have been killed and more than 1,300 wounded in the Israeli assault, according to Iranian media reports.
