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THE WHITE HOUSE said Thursday that President Trump will make his decision on whether to strike Iran’s nuclear sites over the next two weeks, giving negotiators time to reach a diplomatic solution.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt read a statement from Trump to reporters in the briefing room:
“Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place in the near future, I will make my decision of whether or not to go within the next two weeks,” the statement read.
Leavitt said correspondence between the U.S. and Iran about a potential nuclear deal “has continued” in “both direct and indirect ways.”
“If there’s a chance for diplomacy the president is always going to grab it, but he’s not afraid to use strength either,” she added.
The White House sidestepped a question on whether Trump could seek regime change in Iran.
“The president’s top priority right now is ensuring that Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon and providing peace and stability in the Middle East,” Leavitt said.
Earlier this week, Trump taunted Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying the U.S. and Israel know where he’s hiding but have decided not to kill him “for now.”
Global leaders are pushing for a diplomatic end to the war between Israel and Iran.
Officials from Iran and three major European countries are expected to meet Friday in Geneva.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet with foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, Germany and France, as well as European Union Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas.
Araghchi said the European countries requested the meeting, which will focus on persuading Iran to guarantee its nuclear program is used solely for civilian purposes.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has spoken to Trump about a diplomatic solution to the war, has offered to broker a deal between Israel and Iran.
“In my view, a solution could be found,” Putin told reporters.
When asked about the possibility of Israel or the U.S. assassinating Khamenei, Putin responded: “I don’t even want to discuss such a possibility.”
Putin is involved in his own war with Ukraine and has refused to engage in negotiations for a peace deal.
Trump will attend next week’s NATO summit in the Netherlands. He’s expected to depart Monday for the two-day event, after cutting his appearance at the Group of Seven (G7) summit short earlier this week to return to Washington to strategize about Iran.
ATTACKS RAMP UP
Israel and Iran have escalated their strikes on each other.
Iranian missiles hit a major hospital in Israel early Thursday, wounding dozens and causing “extensive damage” to the complex.
Israel vowed to hold Khamenei responsible for “war crimes,” with its defense chief saying the Supreme Leader “cannot continue to exist.”
Israeli officials promised to intensify air strikes, after recent success with hits on Iran’s nuclear and missile sites, as well as targeted assassinations that have decimated Khamenei’s inner circle.
However, Iran says it’s on standby with missiles ready to strike U.S. bases in the region if the Trump administration joins the war.
The U.S. has begun evacuations of diplomats and non-essential personnel from Israel, with Americans fleeing on flights headed to Florida.
Trump is the wild card in the conflict, perhaps as a designed negotiating strategy.
He’s said he may authorize U.S. strikes to take out Iranian nuclear facilities or he may not. He’s said he’ll make a decision at the last possible moment.
Trump held another meeting with his senior intelligence and national security officials in the Situation Room on Thursday. He’s been in frequent contact with his National Security Council and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The president disputed a report in The Wall Street Journal that he’d approved an attack plan but has held back on green-lighting it.
“The Wall Street Journal has No Idea what my thoughts are concerning Iran!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers that the Pentagon has provided military options to Trump.
Hegseth told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee that U.S. troops are providing “maximum force protection” in the Middle East and that no decision had been reached yet about whether the U.S. would fly B-2 stealth bombers over Iran to drop a “bunker buster” bomb that could destroy Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility, which is hidden beneath mountains.
💡Perspectives:
- Vox: Is Israel trying to topple Iran’s government?
- The American Mind: Israel, Iran and Trump’s common sense.
- American Prospect: AIPAC demands Dems ‘stand with Israel’.
- The Hill: The US should aid Israel against Iran, not enter their war.
- New York Times: America must not rush into war with Iran.
Read more:
- Trump focused on avoiding wider conflict as he nears decision.
- Trump talk of joining Iran-Israel conflict unnerves lawmakers.
- US faces sea of risk if Trump presses ahead with Iran attack.
- Who is US Central Command chief Gen. Erik Kurilla?
- Russia’s economy minister says the country is on the brink of recession.
CATCH UP QUICK
- The Los Angeles Dodgers said Thursday they denied Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents entry to their stadium grounds.
- Hundreds of people gathered outside Minnesota’s capitol in St. Paul on Thursday to mourn the deaths of former state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, who were killed in their home over the weekend.
- President Trump signed an executive order further extending the deadline for TikTok’s parent company to divest the popular video sharing app by 90 days.
NEWS THIS AFTERNOON
Senate GOP scrambles for deal on Trump megabill
Senate Republican leaders are making overtures to holdouts on President Trump’s agenda bill, as they scramble to reach consensus ahead of a self-imposed July 4 deadline.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is working closely with Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) to address GOP concerns about Medicaid and other contentious issues in the “big, beautiful deal.”
The Hill’s Alexander Bolton writes:
“Republican senators who have voiced concerns about tough new restrictions on states’ ability to use health care provider taxes to collect more federal Medicaid funding say they are working with Thune on proposals to help rural hospitals in their states from going out of business.”
The White House is watching closely.
“Republicans in Congress have a mandate to deliver and President Trump demands they send this historic bill to his desk for signature by Independence Day,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.
Several other issues are also under scrutiny:
• Senate Republicans omitted language in their version of the bill providing work requirement exemptions for veterans, homeless individuals and youth that were in foster care who receive food assistance.
• The Senate bill would put 2 million acres of public land in 11 states up for sale, drawing criticism from conservationists.
• A new report finds the combined trust funds for Social Security will run out in 2034, earlier than previously forecast.
💡Perspectives:
- The Hill: Antifa’s violence in LA is not helping immigrants.
- The Liberal Patriot: ‘No Kings’ is not enough.
- BIG: Why is Google still in one piece?
- The Nation: Banning foreign students is the opposite of MAGA.
Read more:
- Trump presses House to pass ‘incredible’ crypto bill.
- Shootings highlight danger of political tensions at state, local levels.
- Appeals court won’t let Justice step in for E. Jean Carroll’s $83M verdict.
- Court blocks EPA from axing environmental justice grants.
IN OTHER NEWS
DHS places limits on lawmaker visits to ICE sites
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is placing new limitations on lawmakers seeking to visit immigrant detention facilities, after several visits from Democrats have resulted in confrontations, skirmishes and arrests.
As part of their oversight duties, members are legally allowed to make unannounced visits to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities.
The new guidelines would require lawmakers give 72 hours notice before any visits, while requiring their staff to give 24 hours notice. In addition, lawmakers will not be able to visit ICE field offices.
The guidelines also require 48 hours notice for meeting with specific detainees, and limit the size of groups seeking to tour facilities.
Democrats blasted the new guidelines.
“[DHS Secretary] Kristi Noem’s new policy to block congressional oversight of ICE facilities is not only unprecedented, it is an affront to the Constitution and Federal law,” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said in a statement.
Earlier this month, prosecutors brought charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.), accusing her of assaulting law enforcement during a scrum outside of a New Jersey detention facility. Charges against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) were dropped.
Separately, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was handcuffed on the ground after disrupting Noem’s press conference on anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles. This week, Democrat Brad Lander, who is running for mayor of New York City, was arrested and briefly detained for impeding ICE operations at an immigration court.
MORE IMMIGRATION NEWS…
• White House border czar Tom Homan said Thursday that ICE is focusing on immigration raids in sanctuary cities run by Democrats.
“That’s where the problem is,” Homan said. “They knowingly release public safety threats, illegal aliens to the community every day. So that’s why we’re sending more resources to sanctuary cities.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed those remarks.
“Illegal aliens who are hiding in America’s so-called sanctuary cities will be targeted for removal,” she said. “Radical Democrats will no longer be allowed to shelter illegals who threaten public safety as part of their cynical effort to expand political power, drain the American taxpayer and artificially lower wages and steal American jobs.”
• The State Department will restart interviews and process foreign student visas, but it now will ask applicants to make their social media public for vetting, with potential denial if they refuse.
The State Department says it’s looking for those who “pose a threat to U.S. national security.”
The Hill’s Lexi Lonas writes:
“The announcement comes as a sigh of relief to students who have been accepted to U.S. schools and need to pay their tuition and register for housing. But it also escalates the battle begun under President Trump, with foreign students arrested, visas pulled and Harvard University told it could no longer admit international students.”
💡Perspectives:
- The Hill: For Trump, winning WWIII begins in Iran and ends in Ukraine.
- The Free Press: Israel has done most of the job. Trump can finish it.
- The Hill: Trump may go to war in Iran without Congress.
- The Jerusalem Post: This is the bunker-buster Israel needs from the US.
- Foreign Affairs: Israel’s futile air war.
Read more:
- Democrats, GOP clash over NYC mayoral candidate’s arrest.
- Chicago braces for added ICE agents as standoff with Trump continues.
- 62 percent of Dems agree party leadership should be replaced.
- NYC mayoral candidate draws criticism for ‘globalize the intifada’ remarks.
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