Netanyahu threatens Khamenei after hospital attack

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WASHINGTON - After meeting for the third time in three days with his top national security advisers at the White House to discuss the war between Israel and Iran, US President Donald Trump said he will make a decision on US participation in the conflict within two weeks.

China and Russia, two of Iran's main allies, have also stepped up pressure for a diplomatic way out of the conflict in recent days.

According to Trump's spokesperson, American and Iranian representatives have been in diplomatic contact in recent days.

Trump's deadline comes after the president publicly demanded Iran's unconditional surrender and made threats against Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Despite his tough rhetoric, the Republican has held back from authorizing involvement in the war after splits in his domestic support base became public and intelligence revealed that U.S. assets in the Middle East were vulnerable to retaliation from Iran.

By publicly delaying his timetable for deciding whether to strike Iran, President Trump buys time and space for more diplomacy and opens up new options.

He could test whether Iran’s vision of the deal that he and his envoy, Steve Witkoff, put on the table looks more appealing to Tehran now that the country has suffered major losses in its fleet of missiles and launchers, some of its nuclear facilities and the top ranks of its military.

He may also be buying Israel time to try other ways to hit Iran’s underground nuclear facilities at Fordow, either on the ground or through covert action. And he has created time to allow Russia and China to intervene with the Iranians.

The conflict initiated by Israel to put an end to Iran's nuclear program completed a week this Thursday, the 19th. Since the beginning of the offensive, the Israelis have killed the main Iranian nuclear scientists and the country's military leadership, in addition to destroying part of the atomic facilities.

Despite the success of the campaign, however, complete destruction of the project can only be achieved with American military assistance, as the US is the only country with bombs capable of penetrating the mountains on which Iran has built these plants.

In addition, Israeli air defenses, which have fended off most of Iran's retaliatory ballistic missile strikes, are under strain, which also increases the need for American help. / AP AND NYT