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After a week of intense speculation about whether President Donald Trump would launch a strike against Iran in support of Israel’s efforts to eliminate the country’s nuclear weapons program, White House press chief Caroline Leavitt announced there was a “substantial opportunity” for updated negotiations.
This is because Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragut is reportedly scheduled to meet with European leaders in Geneva on Friday.
Speaking to reporters in the White House press conference room on Thursday, Levitt confirmed that we and Iranian officials were engaged in six rounds of direct and indirect negotiations during the conflict with Israel that broke out on June 13th.
Trump reaffirms the hardliness about Iran’s nuclear deal: “will not allow uranium enrichment”
However, Levitt did not say whether Steve Witkoff, the US Special Envoy who has led the presidential negotiations with Iran, would attend a meeting in Geneva.
Asked by Jackie Heinrich, a senior correspondent at the White House, the fact that Iranian officials have found a way to get to Geneva, Leavitt replied, “I’m not going to make a hypothesis, but as I heard from the president yesterday, they expressed interest in doing so.”
On the left, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragci speaks to an unidentified Omani official when he arrived in Muscat, Oman on April 25, 2025, one day before negotiations with US Middle Eastern envoy Steve Witkov. (AP)
To address the possibility that the United States could be directly involved in the conflict, Leavitt read a message from the President. “We will decide whether to go within the next two weeks based on the fact that there is a considerable potential for negotiation that may or may not be with Iran in the near future.”
She said she hopes Trump will find a diplomatic solution to the conflict, but she is also very “direct and clear” and that the terms of her contract with the country should include enrichment of uranium, which will contribute to Iran’s nuclear program, which the president has long opposed.
Huge feathers of smoke rise from an oil refinery in southern Tehran after reporting an overnight Israeli strike targeting the site on June 15, 2025 (Atta Kenare/AFP)
She stressed that Iran’s nuclear programme is facing serious threats to the United States, saying “Iran has never come close to obtaining nuclear weapons.”
“Iran has everything it takes to achieve nuclear weapons. All they need is a decision from the Supreme Leader to do that,” Leavitt said. “And it will take several weeks to complete production of that weapon. Of course it will pose an existential threat not only to Israel, but also to the United States and the whole world.”
Iran has everything it needs to build nuclear weapons, the report says
Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei speaks to the media during the election in Tehran, Iran on May 10, 2024 (fatemeh bahrami/anadolu via Getty Images)
Nevertheless, Leavitt said, “Iran is absolutely unable to achieve nuclear weapons. The President was very clear about that. And, by the way, the deal that Witkov proposed to the Iranians was realistic and acceptable within its terms, the President sent a contract to it.
Leavitt emphasized Trump’s stance that he “can make a contract” or “they face serious consequences” to end the conflict.
“Iran is in a very weak and vulnerable position due to strikes and attacks from Israel,” she said. “We sent them a practical, realistic deal.”
The talks with the Iranians on Friday will include French Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barott, British Foreign Secretary David Lamy, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadefel and European Union Foreign Policy Director, according to French outlet RFI.
“Five” to Trump’s table for Israeli-Iran conflict consider “all options”
The map shows where Iran’s most important nuclear sites are located. (Fox News/FDD)
The outlet reported that “France, the UK and Germany are ready to bring our capabilities and experience on this issue.”
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Lamie on Thursday. According to a statement from State Department spokesman Tammy Bruce, the two discussed the Israeli-Iran conflict and said, “Iran cannot develop or acquire nuclear weapons.
In response to additional questions regarding possible negotiations with White House representative Iran, Fox News Digital directed Leavitt’s comments in the briefing room.
Peter Pinedo is a political writer for Fox News Digital.
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