Trump Confirms Iran Talks While Weighing Broader Military Action

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - President Donald Trump said the United States is actively negotiating with Iran while stressing that he has not yet decided whether to authorize a significantly broader military campaign against Tehran, portraying diplomacy and military readiness as complementary elements of Washington's strategy.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump said discussions with Iranian officials remain underway and suggested Tehran's approach has shifted as pressure on the country has intensified. According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), his remarks came amid reports that senior administration officials have been reviewing options for a larger military operation against Iran, even as diplomatic contacts continue.

"No, I haven't," Trump said when asked whether he had decided to launch a major new round of strikes.

Instead, the president emphasized that negotiations remain active.

"Look, we're talking to them right now," Trump said. "I think they're getting more and more serious as the days go by, for maybe the obvious reason."

His comments indicate that the administration believes sustained military pressure has increased Iran's willingness to engage diplomatically, although he offered no indication that an agreement is imminent.

Trump maintained that Washington is prepared to escalate militarily if negotiations fail but said diplomacy deserves additional time before any final decision is made.

"We're locked and loaded and ready to go," he said. "But we're talking to them, so I think while we're talking, we'll see what comes of it. I believe they're very serious. They should be."

He repeated that Tehran ultimately faces a choice between reaching an agreement with Washington or confronting what he described as a "much higher level" of military strikes than those already carried out.

The president portrayed the current strategy as one designed to preserve maximum pressure while leaving open the possibility of a negotiated settlement. Rather than presenting diplomacy and military action as opposing options, Trump argued that America's military posture strengthens its negotiating position.

Asked what would trigger a decision to expand the conflict, Trump declined to identify a specific threshold.

Instead, he reiterated that preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon remains Washington's overriding objective.

Trump said he could not define the precise "tipping point" that would prompt broader military action but made clear that any indication Iran was approaching nuclear weapons capability would cross the administration's principal red line.

His latest remarks follow reports that the White House has been considering a wider military campaign. AFP reported that The New York Times said Trump met senior advisers Friday to discuss options for expanded operations, while Axios previously reported that the president had been weighing what he described as a possible "massive attack" on Iran. Despite those reports, Trump emphasized that no final decision has been reached.

The conflict has now entered its fifth month after Trump had initially predicted it would last only several weeks, AFP noted. The prolonged fighting has placed increasing focus on the administration's effort to balance military pressure with diplomatic engagement while managing growing political scrutiny at home.

Alongside his assessment of negotiations, Trump also discussed conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, dismissing reports that either country intends to arm Iran despite claims that Tehran has received outside intelligence support during the conflict.

"I will tell you that President Xi said he will not partake, and President Putin said the same thing," Trump told reporters. "I think, you know, I trust them. I don't think they'd want to have me disappointed."

Earlier, Trump also issued a warning through his Truth Social platform, cautioning Moscow and Beijing against supplying weapons to Iran.

"If they did, it would be very bad for them — certainly not in their best interests," he wrote.

The president said Xi had assured him during a meeting in Beijing in May that China would not provide weapons to Iran under any circumstances. He added that Putin had conveyed a similar commitment despite Russia's continuing war in Ukraine.

Trump further argued that Putin understands Washington's current policy of selling weapons to NATO allies rather than directly to Ukraine, suggesting that mutual understanding formed part of broader discussions regarding Iran.

The president's comments came as he made a public appearance at the rescheduled White House Correspondents' Association dinner, where he briefly referenced the conflict with Iran during a speech that otherwise focused largely on domestic political issues. According to The Associated Press (AP), the event had originally been postponed following the April shooting that disrupted the annual gathering, placing Trump's latest foreign policy remarks within a broader public appearance closely watched by journalists and political observers.

Although much of the evening centered on domestic politics, Trump's statements on Iran underscored that diplomacy remains active even as military planning continues in the background.

Taken together, the president's remarks suggest the administration intends to maintain its dual-track approach: continuing negotiations with Tehran while preserving the option of substantially stronger military action should diplomacy fail to achieve Washington's stated objective of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

For now, Trump has signaled that the United States sees value in allowing talks to continue, even as it keeps military forces prepared. Whether that balance produces a diplomatic breakthrough or gives way to renewed escalation remains uncertain, but the administration's message is increasingly clear: negotiations remain open, yet the threat of expanded military action continues to shape Washington's strategy toward Tehran.