Trump will decide "in the next two weeks" whether to attack Iran.

WashingtonPresident Donald Trump will decide whether to attack Iran within the next two weeks, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt announced at a press conference on Thursday. The press secretary relayed the message directly from the president. "Given that there is a considerable possibility that negotiations will take place—or not—with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision on whether or not to intervene within the next two weeks," Leavitt quoted Trump as saying. The announcement comes after days of suspense from the Republican, who has sought to make it clear to Tehran that he is considering all possibilities. "Nobody knows what I will do," he told reporters on Tuesday. He added: "I might do it, I might not do it."

On Wednesday night, after another meeting of the National Security Council in the White House situation room, administration officials said in the Wall Street Journal That Trump had already internally authorized an attack on Iran, but had not given the final order. Despite the Trump administration's emboldened tone and the leaks about the willingness to bomb Tehran, the announcement to keep the decision on hold for a while longer shows how Washington is still willing to talk. A small de-escalation after outlining a scenario of maximums to get Iran back to the negotiating table. about the nuclear programIsraeli airstrikes early Friday blew up the sixth meeting in Oman between the US and Iranian delegations. The president's message comes just hours after the intelligence meeting at the White House. Iranians told the White House that the US and Iranian delegations had agreed to a meeting with the Iranian government. New York Times Wednesday night that they would accept Trump's offer to meet soon. According to this same source, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi would accept a meeting to discuss a ceasefire with Israel. In the game of bullish betting, Trump has been sending contradictory signals to the ayatollahs; the Republican left the G-7 on Monday, saying he wasn't doing so to negotiate a ceasefire, but from Air Force One, he said he might send Vice President JD Vance or Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff to deal with the Iranians.

This week's round of calls would also have been "initiated by Washington," according to Reuters. The US also wants to "propose a new offer" on the nuclear plan negotiations.

Diplomatic path underway?

In parallel with the displays of force that Trump likes so much, back channels have been operating in the last few hours of escalation. Three diplomats explained to Reuters that Witkoff and Araghchi have spoken by phone several times since Israel began its attacks on Iran, seeking to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis. One of the conditions the Iranian representative reportedly imposed is that Tehran would not return to the negotiating table. If Tel-Aviv did not stop the attacks, which began on June 13. Reuters also quotes a regional diplomat close to Tehran as saying that Araghchi told Witkoff that Tehran “could show flexibility on the nuclear issue” if Washington pressured Israel to end the war.

Across the table, Russia and China – Iran’s main allies – have already been holding talks about Iran’s rising tensions with the United States and Israel. In a phone call, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping condemned Israel for its attacks and called for a de-escalation of the conflict, the Kremlin said. “Both Moscow and Beijing fundamentally believe that there is no military solution to the current situation and to the issues related to Iran’s nuclear program,” said Russian diplomat Yuri Ushakov.

Chinese media also echoed the call, citing Xi as having indirectly appealed to the US, urging that "major countries" with "special influence" in the region should step up diplomatic efforts to calm the situation. Similarly, Moscow has urged the US not to join the Israeli bombings. Indeed, Putin has been in contact with Trump in recent days. While the US president positively raised the possibility of Putin helping mediate nuclear negotiations with Iran in late May, his tone has changed now that the conflict has erupted. Trump explained to reporters that when the Russian offered to interfere in the talks, he replied: "Vladimir, we'll mediate in Russia first. You can worry about it later, but I think it's going to be resolved."