Trump gives Iran 2-week chance for diplomacy before military action
What's the story
United States President Donald Trump has given Iran a two-week chance for diplomacy before he decides on joining Israel's military campaign against Tehran.
Trump and his advisers are hopeful that the pressure from Israeli strikes will make Tehran agree to drop its uranium enrichment, a demand it had previously rejected, CNN reported.
On Thursday, the White House stated that correspondence with Tehran had continued and that negotiations remained possible.
Fordow
Fordow complex the reason?
According to people familiar with the matter, Trump's decision to join the attack on Iran depended in part on whether America's most powerful conventional "bunker buster" bombs could destroy Iran's most heavily defended nuclear facility.
Israel does not have any weaponry that can destroy the Fordow complex.
Netanyahu and his allies have been pressing the US to change from supporting Israel's defense to joining the attack, assuring Trump that only he can "finish off" Iran's nuclear program.
Stalemate persists
Iran won't negotiate until Israel stops bombing
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated Trump's position on diplomacy but also stressed America's military might, saying, "Iran and the entire world should know that the United States military is the strongest and most lethal fighting force in the world."
During a series of Situation Room meetings this week, Trump reviewed options involving bunker-buster bombs that would hit Iran's subterranean nuclear complex at Fordow.
Military considerations
Trump considers military options; wary of multi-year war
However, he expressed concern about the possibility of a war that would last for years.
At the same time, US Secretary of State Rubio has been in talks with European allies to ensure that Iran never develops nuclear weapons.
Amid global warnings against further escalation, Iran's foreign minister will fly to Geneva on Friday to meet with his counterparts from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.
There have also been offers of mediation from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Diplomatic gage
'Temperature check' meeting
A White House official has called the upcoming meeting between European ministers and Iranian representatives a "temperature check" to see if Tehran is open to a diplomatic settlement.
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff continues indirect outreach to Iran, but so far, there has been no shift in Iran's response through third-party mediators.
Iran has made it clear that it won't negotiate with the US until Israel stops bombing its territory.