Trump says to decide on Iran action in next 2 weeks
The White House said President Trump will make a decision on potential strikes on Iran "within two weeks."
Citing a message from Trump, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks."
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Saudi Gazette
22 minutes ago
- Saudi Gazette
US joining Israeli strikes would cause hell, says Iranian minister
LONDON — The US joining Israeli strikes would cause "hell for the whole region", Iran's deputy foreign minister has told the BBC. Saeed Khatibzadeh said this is "not America's war" and if US President Donald Trump does get involved, he will always be remembered as "a president who entered a war he doesn't belong in". He said US involvement would turn the conflict into a "quagmire", continue aggression and delay an end to the "brutal atrocities". His comments came after the Soroka hospital in southern Israel was hit during an Iranian missile attack. Iranian state media reported that the strike targeted a military site next to the hospital, and not the facility itself. Israel's Ministry of Health said 71 people were injured during the attack on the Soroka Medical Center. Meanwhile, Israel's military said it had targeted Iran's nuclear sites including the "inactive" Arak heavy water reactor and Natanz has not given an update on casualties in Iran from Israeli latest attacks come at a critical time. On Thursday, the White House said Trump would decide whether or not the US gets directly involved in the conflict within the next two to the BBC, Khatibzadeh insisted that "of course, diplomacy is the first option", but said but while bombardment continues "we cannot start any negotiation".He repeatedly called Iran's attacks on Israel "self defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter" and said "we were in the middle of diplomacy" when in a major escalation of the conflict on 13 June, Israel launched attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, killing several top generals and nuclear deputy foreign minister called the conflict "unprovoked" and "unnecessary".Responding to Trump's repeated comments that the conflict could have been avoided if Iran had accepted a nuclear deal, Khatibzadeh said they were negotiating until Israel "sabotaged" discussions by launching attacks Iran."We were planning to have the sixth round of nuclear talks in Muscat, and we were actually on the verge of reaching an agreement," he said."President Trump knows better than anybody else that we were on the verge of reaching an agreement."He also criticized Trump's "confusing and contradictory" social media posts and interviews, which he said indicated "that Americans have been aware and have participated" in the special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi have reportedly spoken on the phone several times since Friday, in a bid to find a diplomatic end to the crisis, Reuters to three diplomats who spoke to the news agency and asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, Araqchi said Tehran would not return to negotiations unless Israel stopped the has alleged Iran has recently "taken steps to weaponise" its enriched uranium stockpile, which can be used for power plants or nuclear bombs. Iran has always claimed that its nuclear program is entirely Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) — the UN's nuclear watchdog - said Iran had amassed enough uranium enriched up to 60% purity - a short technical step away from weapons grade, or 90% — to potentially make nuclear bombs."This is nonsense," Khatibzadeh said in response. "You cannot start a war based on speculation or intention."If we wanted to have a nuclear bomb, we would have had it way before."Iran has never developed any program for nuclear weaponization of peaceful nuclear activities. Bottom line."IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said that nuclear facilities "must never be attacked, regardless of the context or circumstances, as it could harm both people and the environment".Khatibzadeh also discussed potential diplomatic channels after a G7 summit in said: "What we are hearing from Europeans is that they would like to get back to diplomacy at a ministerial level"."They are going to have a meeting in Geneva and we are very much happy that finally they have to come and talk at the table about the issues at hand." — BBC
Saudi Gazette
22 minutes ago
- Saudi Gazette
Trump's new two-week negotiating window sets off scramble to restart stalled Iran talks
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's decision to open a two-week negotiating window before deciding on striking Iran sets off an urgent effort to restart talks that had been deadlocked when Israel began its bombing campaign last week. The hope among Trump and his advisers is that Iran — under constant Israeli attack and having suffered losses to its missile arsenal — will relent on its hardline position and agree to terms it had previously rejected, including abandoning its enrichment of uranium, according to US officials. The deferred decision, which came after days of increasingly martial messages from the president suggesting he was preparing to order a strike, also gives Trump more time to weigh the potential consequences — including the chance it could drag the United States into the type of foreign conflict he promised to avoid. But negotiating a diplomatic solution in Trump's condensed timeline appeared to face significant early hurdles. Earlier this week, discussions were underway inside the White House to dispatch Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Vice President JD Vance to the region for talks with Iran. But as Trump grew wary that diplomatic efforts might succeed, the idea never resulted in scheduled talks, and both Vance and Witkoff remained in Washington as of Thursday. Foreign ministers from Britain, Germany and France are traveling to Geneva on Friday to hold talks with Iranian representatives, and have been briefed on the details of the last deal Witkoff offered to Iran, which Tehran ultimately rejected before the Israeli strikes began. Among US officials, there were not high expectations of success for Friday's meeting in Geneva, one US official said. But a White House official kept the door open to progress. 'This is a meeting between European leaders and Iran. The President supports diplomatic efforts from our allies that could bring Iran closer to taking his deal,' a White House official said. Iran's consistent message to the US since Israel began its strikes a week ago has been they will not engage in further talks with the US until the ongoing Israeli operation ends, two sources familiar with the messages said. The US has so far not pressured Israel to halt its strikes, sources said. And Trump said this week that his message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been to 'keep going.' So far, Iran has offered no indication it is willing to move off its positions on enrichment, which it views as a red line. And as of Thursday, no official talks between the US and Iran were on the books, US officials said. In putting off a decision, Trump appears to be placing more stock in a diplomatic solution that only a day earlier he appeared to suggest was out of reach. 'I think the president has made it clear he always wants to pursue diplomacy. But believe me, the president is unafraid to use strength if necessary,' press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday after relaying Trump's new two-week timeline. 'And Iran and the entire world should know that the United States military is the strongest and most lethal fighting force in the world, and we have capabilities that no other country on this planet possesses.' In a string of Situation Room meetings over the course of this week, Trump has quizzed advisers about the likelihood US bunker-buster bombs could entirely eliminate Iran's underground nuclear facility at Fordow, and how long such an operation might last, according to people familiar with the conversations. He has insisted repeatedly he wants to avoid taking action that could devolve into a multi-year conflict, something many of his own loyalists — including his onetime top strategist Steve Bannon, with whom the president had lunch Thursday — argue would be unavoidable should he make the decision to go ahead. And while the president has seen the military options, he remains worried about a longer-term war. Any assessments on whether a strike would cause prolonged US engagement are predictive and, by their nature, not entirely satisfactory, one official said. The new, within-two-weeks time frame for talks was not universally welcomed. An Israeli intelligence official expressed dismay that Trump would not make a decision – one way or the other. 'This is not helping,' the official said. Trump will continue to convene top-level intelligence briefings over the coming days, returning to Washington early from a weekend trip to his property in New Jersey to be updated at the White House. He has relied principally on his CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine in meetings to discuss his options, according to people familiar with the matter. But at the center of the diplomatic efforts will be Witkoff, the president's friend and foreign envoy who has led negotiations meant to curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions. Witkoff began direct messaging with his Iranian counterpart, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, earlier this month and the administration has maintained some communications with Iranian officials over the past tense days as Trump weighed a strike. The plan that Witkoff last offered to Tehran would have required Iran to eventually end all uranium enrichment on its soil, and on Thursday the White House said it still views a ban on Iranian uranium enrichment as necessary to a final deal. As the Europeans head into Friday's meeting, they will be 'taking the temperature' on how receptive the Iranians are to finding a diplomatic solution, given their belief that strikes in both directions are not a solution, a European official said. European leaders believe the risks of Iran's nuclear program persist even amid Israel's strikes because Tehran maintains nuclear know-how and may still have clandestine nuclear-related efforts that won't get demolished by military strikes. Meanwhile, most US diplomats who are not in Trump's inner circle at the State Department have not been given specific guidance to offer US allies on the diplomatic efforts, a US official and a European diplomat said. That has led to many frustrating discussions with foreign interlocutors as US diplomats have very few answers to give the allies as they try to determine their diplomatic and military posture in the region, pointing only to Trump's own words. As Trump has weighed his options, Secretary of State Rubio has been close by, also departing early from the Group of 7 summit in Canada along with the commander in chief earlier this week. The top US diplomat spoke on Monday with his French, British and European Union counterparts about efforts to 'encourage a diplomatic path that ensures Iran never develops a nuclear weapon,' according to State Department readouts of the calls. On Wednesday, Rubio 'compared notes' on the matter with the Norwegian foreign minister. Rubio met with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Thursday before Lammy departs for the Geneva talks, and the two 'agreed Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon,' according to the State Department. 'Meeting with Secretary of State Rubio and Special Envoy to the Middle East Witkoff in the White House today, we discussed how Iran must make a deal to avoid a deepening conflict. A window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution,' Lammy said in a statement Thursday. US officials, including Witkoff, have also been actively engaged with officials in the region, many of whom have offered their help in mediating a diplomatic path forward. Multiple sources said Iran has responded to messages from third parties, but their responses have not changed. — CNN
Arab News
25 minutes ago
- Arab News
Appeals court lets Trump keep control National Guard troops deployed to Los Angeles during protests
LOS ANGELES: An appeals court on Thursday allowed President Donald Trump to keep control of National Guard troops he deployed to Los Angeles following protests over immigration raids. The decision halts a ruling from a lower court judge who found Trump acted illegally when he activated the soldiers over opposition from California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The deployment was the first by a president of a state National Guard without the governor's permission since 1965. The court case could have wider implications on the president's power to deploy soldiers within the United States after Trump directed immigration officials to prioritize deportations from other Democratic-run cities. Trump, a Republican, argued that the troops were necessary to restore order. Newsom, a Democrat, said the move inflamed tensions, usurped local authority and wasted resources. The protests have since appeared to be winding down. The ruling comes from a panel of three judges on the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, two of whom were appointed by Trump during his first term. During oral arguments Tuesday, all three judges suggested that presidents have wide latitude under the federal law at issue and that courts should be reluctant to step in. The case started when Newsom sued to block Trump's command, and he won an early victory from US District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco. Breyer found that Trump had overstepped his legal authority, which only allows presidents can take control during times of 'rebellion or danger of a rebellion.' 'The protests in Los Angeles fall far short of 'rebellion,'' wrote Breyer, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton and is brother to retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. The Trump administration, though, argued that courts can't second guess the president's decisions and quickly secured a temporary halt from the appeals court. The ruling means control of the California National Guard will stay in federal hands as the lawsuit continues to unfold.
