Trump continues meetings with national security team over Iran

President Trump has held national security meetings at the White House every day since he returned early from the G7 summit to decide whether to commit U.S. forces to the rising conflict between Israel and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Mr. Trump has been weighing the next steps on Iran, who has now been in the midst of a missile war with Israel after not agreeing to a deal with the U.S. to cease its nuclear program. He had another meeting with his advisers on his schedule Friday.

The president said Thursday that his decision on what to do will come in the next two weeks, as he gives Iranian officials another chance to negotiate an end to their nuclear program.

“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,” he said in a statement shared by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

The U.S. had six rounds of negotiations with Iran before Israel decided to strike the country with missiles. Ms. Leavitt said the deal presented by U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was “both realistic and acceptable,” but it ultimately wasn’t accepted.

Mr. Trump is weighing whether to strike Iran’s uranium enrichment facility, Fordo. It’s buried under a mountain and isn’t an easy spot to strike, even with 30,000-pound “bunker-buster” bombs made by the U.S.

Ms. Leavitt said a deal with Iran would include Tehran agreeing to not enrich uranium so it wouldn’t be able to achieve a nuclear weapon.

Iran has maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful, and National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard testified before Congress in March that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon.

Mr. Trump has shut down questions about Ms. Gabbard’s testimony, saying he doesn’t care what she said. He maintains that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.

Ms. Leavitt described Mr. Trump as “a peace through strength president,” but said he’s “not afraid to use strength as well.”

“War Room” host and Trump ally Steve Bannon had lunch with the president Thursday and, while he hasn’t shared what they’ve discussed, he has pushed for Israel to finish what it started without help from the U.S.

He told Politico Playbook that Mr. Trump “clearly stated” that he wants “to look at other alternatives” to ending the conflict with Iran before deciding to get involved militarily.

“This is a guy, before he turns to violence in terms of military kinetic action, he looks at every other alternative you can do. I think it just once again reinforces the reason that the MAGA movement loves him,” he said.

The president is attending a MAGA Inc. dinner Friday night at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J.

It’s a week into strikes between Israel and Iran, and civilians have died on both sides.

NATO is set to meet next week, which Mr. Trump plans to attend, and Iran will likely be the center of the talks.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran isn’t “seeking negotiations with anyone” as long as Israel keeps striking.

“It is the Americans who want talks,” he said in comments that were broadcast Friday by Iranian state television. “They’ve sent messages several times — very serious ones — but we made it explicitly clear to them that as long as this aggression and invasion continue, there is absolutely no room for talk or diplomacy. We are engaged in legitimate self-defense, and this defense will not stop under any circumstances.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he trusted that Mr. Trump would “do what’s best for America.” 

“I trust his judgment. He’s a tremendous friend, a tremendous world leader, a tremendous friend of Israel and the Jewish people,” he said Thursday while standing by the rubble of a hospital in Israel.

He said he speaks to Mr. Trump “almost every day.”

— This report is based in part on wire service reports.