SUBSCRIBE & SAVE Less than $3 per week View Profile The Explainer Talking Points The Week Recommends Newsletters From the Magazine The Week Junior Food & Drink Personal Finance All Categories Newsletter sign up Trump gives himself 2 weeks for Iran decision Trump said he believes negotiations will occur in the near future Newsletter sign up President Donald Trump talks about Iran during a meeting with Italian soccer team Juventus on June 19, 2025 (Image credit: Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images) Peter Weber, The Week US 20 June 2025 What happened President Donald Trump said Thursday he will decide whether to join Israel's attack on Iran "within the next two weeks," as "there's a substantial chance of negotiations" with Tehran "in the near future." Israel launched more airstrikes targeting Iran's nuclear facilities Thursday and Iranian missiles struck several buildings in Israel, including a large hospital in Beersheba, through Friday morning as the conflict entered its eighth day. Who said what Trump's two-week window "opened up diplomatic options, with the apparent hope Iran would make concessions after suffering major military losses," The Associated Press said. "But at least publicly, Iran has struck a hard line." Trump has approved an attack plan and is "seriously considering joining the war," Axios said, citing U.S. officials, but first he "wants to ensure" the operation "wouldn't drag the U.S. into a prolonged war in the Middle East" and would destroy Iran's nuclear program. Polls show Americans are deeply "skeptical about a potential U.S. military strike," The Washington Post said. Subscribe to The Week Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives. SUBSCRIBE & SAVE Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. What next? The foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany and the EU are meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva on Friday in the hopes of giving Trump "an off-ramp on bombing Iran," Politico said. U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who is flying to the talks from a meeting in Washington with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said yesterday that a "window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution." But "two weeks," for Trump, is a famously "slippery" and "subjective unit of time" that "can mean something, or nothing at all," The New York Times said. Explore More Donald Trump Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Peter Weber, The Week US Social Links Navigation Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University. 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