U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he will decide within the next two weeks whether the United States will join Israel’s ongoing military campaign against Iran, citing a “substantial” chance for negotiations to end the conflict. The announcement came amid mounting global anxiety over whether Washington would deepen its involvement in a war that has already shaken the Middle East.

The statement, read by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, followed days of intense speculation. “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,” Trump said in a message delivered from the White House.

While Trump has previously issued two-week deadlines on other pressing issues, including the war in Ukraine, Leavitt denied this was a delay tactic. “If there’s a chance for diplomacy, the president’s always going to grab it, but he’s not afraid to use strength as well,” she told reporters.

Tensions have escalated sharply since Israel launched a surprise offensive on Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure last week, prompting retaliatory missile and drone attacks from Tehran. Trump has backed Israel’s military operations and repeatedly warned of Iran’s nuclear ambitions, while still leaving the door open to a negotiated resolution.

Leavitt raised the stakes further on Thursday, warning that Iran could potentially produce a nuclear weapon in “a couple of weeks” if Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave the order. “Iran has all that it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon,” she said. Tehran has consistently denied that its nuclear program is aimed at weapons development.

The White House revealed that Iran had initiated communication with Washington since the latest round of fighting began, with Trump claiming on Wednesday that Iranian officials sought to send envoys to the White House. Iran’s government, however, denied making such a request. Despite this, Leavitt confirmed there had been some form of “correspondence” between the two nations in recent days.

Trump has continued to hold daily Situation Room meetings with his top national security advisers and will do so until he departs for a NATO summit in the Netherlands on Monday. For now, there are no plans for his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to attend Friday’s talks in Geneva between Iran’s foreign minister and European diplomats, despite growing calls for American involvement in any potential peace talks.

Trump’s comments come after a tense week in which he described Khamenei as an “easy target” and faced public pressure from within his own political movement to stay out of the conflict. Influential conservative voices, including former strategist Steve Bannon and media figure Tucker Carlson, have urged Trump to resist entering another Middle Eastern war.

Leavitt acknowledged the internal debate but urged supporters to trust the president’s instincts. “Trust in President Trump. President Trump has incredible instincts,” she said, invoking the foreign policy stance that helped him win both the 2016 and 2024 elections—promising to end “forever wars” and limit U.S. military entanglements abroad.

A key factor in Trump’s decision is believed to be America’s unique military capability to destroy hardened nuclear sites like Iran’s underground Fordo enrichment facility, which other countries, including Israel, lack the means to target effectively.