President Trump announced Thursday that he would give Iran two more weeks to negotiate an end to its nuclear program before deciding whether the U.S. military will join Israel’s bombing onslaught, a move aimed at staving off American involvement in the brewing war in the Middle East.
Mr. Trump’s new deadline, which White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced, gives the president some breathing room with his staunchly anti-war MAGA base while allowing more time for the Israeli military to gut Iranian nuclear sites without the involvement of U.S. forces.
The two-week reprieve also gives Iran a last-ditch chance to negotiate a nuclear deal, which the president said he wants most.
“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,” the president said, according to Ms. Leavitt.
As Israel entered the seventh day of bombing key Iranian military sites, European Union diplomats prepared for nuclear talks with top Iranian officials.
The foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Friday with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
“The message from the secretary-general is clear,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. “Stop the military action. Too many people have been killed. Return to diplomacy, and avoid at any cost the further internationalization of this conflict.”
In Geneva, the foreign ministers will try to persuade Iran to guarantee it will limit its nuclear program to peaceful purposes. The meeting is in coordination with U.S. officials, but special envoy Steve Witkoff, who has led U.S. negotiations with Iran, has not indicated he would attend.
The terms under discussion are not likely to fully satisfy Mr. Trump, who wants Iran to abandon its nuclear program and stop enriching uranium.
“Iran is absolutely not able to achieve a nuclear weapon. The president has been very clear about that,” said Ms. Leavitt, describing the terms of a deal that would satisfy Mr. Trump.
Iran blatantly violated several key provisions of the 2015 nuclear deal with the U.S. and other nations by developing advanced centrifuges, exceeding its allowed stockpile of enriched uranium and taking other prohibited actions associated with building a nuclear weapon.
Mr. Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal during his first term in office and was working on a new deal with Iran when he returned to the White House.
The president gave Iran 60 days to reach an agreement. When the deadline passed, Israel began bombing. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran was on the brink of developing a nuclear weapon, and Mr. Trump agreed.
Iran has responded with waves of ballistic missile and drone attacks against Israel. On Thursday, Iranian missiles hit a hospital in southern Israel and struck residential buildings in Tel Aviv, wounding 240 people and causing extensive damage.
Israel launched another wave of airstrikes against Iran that took out a nuclear reactor under construction.
Iran has lost control of its airspace to Israel, and its military may be running short on ammunition, analysts said.
Mr. Trump said Iranian government officials now want to visit the White House to negotiate, but he added that he was not interested in a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
“We are looking for a total and complete victory,” Mr. Trump said in the Oval Office on Wednesday. “You know what victory is? No nuclear weapon.”
Mr. Trump’s military advisers have given him specific plans for a U.S. strike on Iran, which would likely be aimed at destroying the Fordo underground nuclear facility.
The U.S. is thought to be the only nation capable of finishing off the underground site, thanks to massive precision-guided, U.S.-made bombs that can be delivered only by U.S.-made B-2 bombers and American pilots.
Analysts say the “bunker busters” are the only weapons in the world capable of penetrating 200 feet underground before detonating and destroying the nuclear complexes.
Mr. Trump said Wednesday that his “patience is wearing thin with Iran,” but the two-week reprieve announced Thursday shows he is willing to give the Iranians one last chance now that officials are reaching out to him directly.
The president is also listening to the large anti-war wing of his MAGA movement that is urging Mr. Trump to keep the U.S. out of the Middle East fighting or risk blowing up his “America First” coalition.
White House officials confirmed that one of the loudest voices from that faction, former senior adviser Steve Bannon, had lunch with Mr. Trump on Thursday.
“Iran must never get a nuclear weapon,” Mr. Bannon said. “And Israel is fully capable of finishing what they started.”
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
