Trump to decide on Iran strike 'within next two weeks', holding it off to give negotiations a 'chance'

WASHINGTON, DC: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday, June 19, that President Donald Trump will decide on the United States' involvement in Israel's conflict with Iran within the next two weeks. 

Leavitt said during a White House briefing, "I have a message directly from the president, and I quote, '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.'"

Donald Trump to decide on Iran strike 'within next two weeks'

Karoline Laavitt continued, "He's been very clear. Iran went for 60 days when he gave them that 60-day warning without coming to the table. On day 61, Israel took action against Iran. And as I just told you from the president directly, he will make a decision within two weeks in."

Moreover, she said that there have been six rounds of direct and indirect negotiations with Iran, adding that talks continue but declined to provide details, according to Fox News. 

During the briefing, Leavitt was asked if Trump would strike Iran if negotiations fail, and she said that the POTUS would make a decision "whether or not to go" within the next two weeks.

She even insisted that the conflicts are different when asked about the reliability of that timeline, considering earlier delays on other global matters.

"President Trump inherited global instability from the last administration. He is always interested in diplomacy but not afraid to use strength," Leavitt further said.

She added that Iran cannot attain a nuclear bomb because it would pose a threat to the US and Israel.

Moreover, she said that Iran is weeks away from achieving such a weapon.

"Iran has never been closer to obtaining a nuclear weapon. Iran has all that it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon. All they need is a decision from the Supreme Leader to do that," the White House press secretary told reporters.

"And it would take a couple of weeks to complete the production of that weapon, which would, of course, pose an existential threat not just to Israel, but to the United States and to the entire world," she added.

Leavitt further mentioned, "Nobody should be surprised by the president's position that Iran absolutely cannot obtain a nuclear weapon. He has been unequivocally clear about this for decades, not just as president, not just as a presidential candidate, but also as a private citizen."

Insiders say Donald Trump fears Iran would become 'another Libya'

An insider from the DonaldTrump administration believes that the POTUS is skeptical of bombing Iran as he is concerned that it would end up creating "another Libya" if Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is toppled.

A source, familiar with the administration’s deliberations on potentially joining Israel’s airstrikes, informed the New York Post that Trump "doesn’t want it to turn into Libya."

While other sources were informed by those who had heard Trump say so following the start of the conflict last week, an insider close to the administration said the POTUS also mentioned Afghanistan and Iraq.

However, a different insider added, "Libya was a much more extended kind of bombing commitment, and it ended up being regime change."

"If the regime falls [in Iran], then it’s not on Trump, because that’s not the goal of his very limited strike," the source said, adding, "As far as President Trump goes, he’s not going to get in the business of who runs Iran, that’s very salable to his base."

Additionally, the source who heard the president directly also mentioned, "There are two reasons Trump talks about Libya: the first is the chaos after what we did to Gaddafi. The second is the Libya intervention made it more difficult to negotiate deals with countries like North Korea and Iran."

Meanwhile, Israel’s defense minister Israel Katz dubbed Iran’s supreme leader "the modern Hitler."

"The IDF has been instructed and knows that to achieve all the objectives, without question this man should no longer continue to exist," Katz said.