The Iranian regime “would be very wise” to strike a deal with President Donald Trump, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt warned on Wednesday, speaking amid indirect Washington-Tehran nuclear talks and a massive U.S. military buildup in the Mideast.
“The president has always been very clear though with respect to Iran or any country around the world—diplomacy is always his first option and Iran would be very wise to make a deal with President Trump and with this administration,” Leavitt said at a media briefing, prefacing her response by noting that “there are many reasons and arguments that one could make for a strike against Iran.”
“He’s talking to many people—of course his national security team first and foremost ..., and this is something the president obviously takes seriously. He’s always thinking about what is in the best interest of the United States of America, of our military, of the American people, and that’s how he makes decisions with respect to military action of any kind,” she added.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on Tuesday that Trump has “a lot of tools” to ensure that the Iranian regime does not acquire nuclear weapons.
Trump briefed on Geneva talks
Trump gathered his senior advisers for a meeting on Wednesday night to discuss the Iran crisis, where he was briefed on Tuesday’s nuclear talks in Geneva, Israeli journalist Barak Ravid reported for Channel 12 on Thursday, citing two senior American officials.
A second round of Omani-mediated nuclear negotiations took place in the Swiss city, following an initial round held earlier this month in Muscat. While Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi indicated that progress was made—an assessment corroborated by a U.S. official, who told Reuters that Iran has agreed to submit detailed proposals within two weeks to narrow gaps in the talks—there were conflicting reports about the likelihood of an imminent American military strike on the Islamic Republic.
A senior U.S. official told Ravid that Araghchi had offered “a lot of positive things” in talks with presidential adviser Jared Kushner and Special Envoy Steven Witkoff but stressed that “the ball is in Iran’s court,” while a second senior American official voiced deep skepticism, dismissing the Geneva meetings as “a hamburger stuffed with nothing.”
Conflicting reports on US attack
Senior national security officials have told Trump that the U.S. military could be ready to launch strikes on Iran as soon as Saturday, but people familiar with the deliberations say any action is more likely to come later, CBS News reported on Wednesday.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said Trump has not made a final decision on whether to order an attack.
Ravid reported that a senior American official countered those claims, saying the U.S. military would not be fully prepared to launch an attack by the weekend because the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier would not yet be in position in the eastern Mediterranean. Trump has ordered the largest warship ever built redeployed from the Caribbean, where it is set to join a growing “armada” assembled to pressure Iran.
Still, Trump is close to authorizing war against the Iranian regime, according to Ravid’s reporting, citing “sources in Washington” who say the decision could come soon and that it would likely be a large-scale campaign lasting weeks.
Massive American military buildup
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the U.S. has put in place the largest amount of air power in the Middle East since the 2003 Iraq invasion. According to Axios, it includes two U.S. aircraft carriers, more than a dozen warships, hundreds of fighter jets, including F-35s, F-22s and F-16s, and multiple air-defense systems, with additional forces still en route to the region. More than 150 U.S. military cargo flights have ferried weapons and ammunition to the Middle East.
Meanwhile, satellite images show Iran racing to repair and harden key nuclear and missile sites hit in past strikes, moves analysts say are meant to shield Tehran’s most sensitive infrastructure from U.S. or Israeli attacks.
Washington is also targeting the Iranian regime over its deadly crackdown on recent nationwide protests.
The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has imposed visa restrictions on an additional 18 Iranian officials and telecommunications executives, as well as their immediate family members, for their role in suppressing the demonstrations and enforcing a sweeping internet shutdown during the uprising in late 2025 and early 2026. The move brings the total number of people targeted under the policy to 58 and underscores Washington’s support for Iranians’ rights to free expression and peaceful assembly.
