(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump expects to make a decision on whether to strike Iran within the next two weeks, the White House said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the possibility Thursday, saying it is a “fact” that Iran has never been closer to a nuclear weapon, but did not answer questions about what intelligence led the White House to make that assessment.
Leavitt said the president still considers diplomacy the first option, but Iran would need to give up efforts to enrich uranium.
“The president makes decisions on his instincts,” she said of the option to launch military strikes.
The foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany are scheduled to meeting in Geneva on Friday with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
“The situation in the Middle East remains perilous. We are determined that Iran must never obtain a nuclear weapon. In today’s meeting at the White House with Secretary of State Rubio and Special Envoy to the Middle East Witkoff, we agreed that Iran must pursue a deal to avoid deeper conflict.
A narrow two-week window now exists to secure a diplomatic solution.
Tomorrow, I will travel to Geneva to meet the Iranian Foreign Minister with my French, German, and EU counterparts. This is the moment to halt the grave scenes unfolding in the region and prevent a wider escalation that benefits no one.”
Statement from UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy following White House Meeting
The fighting between Israel and Iran endured into Thursday as the Islamic Republic fired missiles across Israel, injuring hundreds and significantly damaging one of its largest hospitals.
Israel carried out an airstrike on Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor and other nuclear sites Thursday morning. An Israeli military official originally said one of the impacted sites was Bushehr, Iran’s only operating nuclear power plant. Another official later said that was “a mistake.”
Alexey Likhachev, the head of Russia’s nuclear energy corporation, said a strike on Bushehr has the potential to cause a “Chernobyl-style catastrophe,” state news agency RIA reported.
Israel and Iran have continued to trade missile strikes for a week. Now, the world waits to see if President Donald Trump will enter the U.S. into the conflict with strikes against Iran.
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The damaged headquarters of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, Iranian state television, is seen in Tehran on June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) -
Smokes raises from a building of the Soroka hospital complex after it was hit by a missile fired from Iran in Beersheba, Israel on June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) -
Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv on June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Trump denies he’s approved attack plans on Iran
Trump has been weighing his options for American military involvement in the region for days and has reviewed attack plans on Iran, a source has confirmed to NewsNation.
Trump has since dismissed a report from The Wall Street Journal that said he had agreed to plans. In a social media post, he wrote the outlet “has No Idea what my thoughts are concerning Iran!”
He has called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender,” while Iran has warned that any U.S. action would result in “irreparable damage” in return.
A primary target for any U.S. involvement would likely be the Fordow fuel enrichment site, buried deep underground, which Israeli officials have acknowledged only America’s so-called “bunker buster” bombs could fully destroy.
Evacuations ensue amid Israel-Iran conflict
More than 160 Americans flew into Florida from Israel on Thursday morning, according to the state’s emergency management. The flights, chartered by Gov. Ron DeSantis, carried U.S. citizens who fled Israel on a cruise ship to Cyprus.
The U.S. Embassy in Israel is orchestrating more evacuation flights and cruises for Americans there.
NewsNation confirmed one of the Israel evacuees was Edan Alexander, an American Israeli hostage who was held captive in the Gaza Strip for more than 19 months and released in May.
Officials are also planning for a partial evacuation of the U.S. embassy in Iraq, sources said Wednesday.
“The State Department regularly reviews American personnel abroad, and this decision was made as a result of a recent review,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Reuters when asked about reports of the partial evacuations.
A White House official said Trump was aware of the move.
US military jets, ships shift toward Middle East
The USS Gerald Ford — the Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier — will head to Europe next week. The move is part of a previously scheduled deployment, but it will give Trump a third aircraft carrier option as he weighs potential U.S. involvement in the Middle East.
A Pentagon official confirmed to NewsNation that the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Nimitz will be in the Middle East at the same time as they hand over responsibilities.
The move was “pre-planned” and “just happened to coincide with region tensions,” the official said.
Earlier this week, the U.S. military deployed fighter aircraft — including F-16, F-22 and F-35 jets — to the Middle East amid the conflict, two officials told Reuters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
