After a week of intense speculation about whether President Donald Trump will launch a strike on Iran in support of Israel’s efforts to eliminate the country’s nuclear weapons program, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced there is a ‘substantial chance’ for renewed negotiations.
This comes as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is reportedly scheduled to meet with European leaders in Geneva Friday.
Speaking with reporters in the White House press briefing room Thursday, Leavitt confirmed U.S. and Iranian officials have engaged in six rounds of direct and indirect negotiations during the conflict with Israel, which broke out June 13.
Leavitt, however, did not say whether U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who has been leading the president’s negotiations with Iran, would be present for the meetings in Geneva.
Asked by Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich whether the fact that Iranian officials had found a way to get to Geneva meant they could also get to the White House to engage in negotiations, Leavitt responded: ‘I am not going to get into hypotheticals, but as you heard from the president yesterday, they have expressed interest in doing so.’
Addressing the possibility of the U.S. becoming directly involved in the conflict, Leavitt read a message from the president saying, ‘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.’
While she said Trump is hoping to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict, she said he has simultaneously been very ‘direct and clear’ that the terms of any deal with the country must include no enrichment of uranium, which would contribute to the Iranian nuclear program the president has long opposed.
She stressed the U.S. faces a serious threat due to Iran’s nuclear program, saying, ‘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,’ said Leavitt. ‘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.’
Nonetheless, Leavitt said, ‘Iran is absolutely not able to achieve a nuclear weapon. The president has been very clear about that. And, by the way, the deal that Special Envoy Witkoff proposed to the Iranians was both realistic and acceptable within its terms, and that’s why the president sent that deal to them.’
Leavitt emphasized Trump’s stance that Iran ‘can and should make a deal’ to end the conflict or ‘they will face grave consequences.’
‘Iran is in a very weak and vulnerable position because of the strikes and the attacks from Israel,’ she said. ‘We sent a deal to them that was practical, that was realistic.’
According to French outlet RFI, the talks Friday with the Iranians will include French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
The outlet reported Barrot saying, ‘France, Britain and Germany stand ready to bring our competence and experience on this matter’ and ‘we are ready to take part in negotiations aimed at obtaining from Iran a lasting rollback of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.’
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Lammy Thursday. According to a statement by State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, the two discussed the Israeli-Iran conflict and ‘agreed Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon.
In response to additional questions about potential U.S. negotiations with Iran, a representative for the White House directed Fox News Digital to Leavitt’s comments in the briefing room.