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Iran said it would reject the option to hold nuclear talks with the United States after President Donald Trump publicly said it would have a two-week deadline to resolve its ongoing conflict with Israel before the United States military got involved.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said there was no room to negotiate with the U.S. "until Israeli aggression stops" in an address on state television via the New York Post.
“Americans want to negotiate and have sent messages several times, but we clearly said that as long as this aggression doesn’t stop, there’s no place for talk of dialogue,” Araqchi said, accusing the U.S. of also being a "partner to Israeli crime against Iran."
Israeli forces were reportedly ordered to intensify strikes on Iran Friday (June 20) in order to "destabilize" the regime one week after launching their initial missiles at Tehran. On Thursday (June 19), White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump will make a final decision on whether the United States military will strike Iran within "the next two weeks" amid ongoing negotiations.
“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,” Leavitt said.
“Iran has all that it needs to keep a nuclear weapon,” she added. “All they need is a decision from the Supreme leader to do that.”
Trump had previously said that Iran officials were looking to go to the White House and speak with him directly and acknowledged that it may be difficult given that they would travel from Tehran, where Israel has launched targeted strikes amid their ongoing conflict.
“If there’s a chance for diplomacy, he’s not afraid to grab it,” Leavitt said of Trump.