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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he has not decided whether to greenlight U.S. military strikes on Iran’s uranium enrichment sites.

“I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” Trump told reporters on June 18 during an impromptu question and answer session at the White House.

He said later Iran had been “school yard bullies” but not after its leadership regime was weakened by Israeli military strikes. “Nothing is finished until it’s finished,” Trump added. “I wouldn’t say that we won anything yet. I would say that we sure as hell made a lot of progress. And the next week is going to be very big. Maybe less than a week.”

The president’s remarks were the latest indication Trump is actively considering assisting Israel in its military campaign after telling the residents of Tehran they should flee the city earlier in the week. He also said in a series of social media posts and public comments that Iran should make a nuclear agreement with the United States before it is too late. He signaled at the White House in his first public appearance in more than 24 hours that the window may be closing.

Trump said he gave the Iranians the “ultimate ultimatum” but declined to say what was in it.

The president indicated he was still mulling his options hours later, telling reporters during an Oval Office event that he would be meeting with his national security team in the Situation Room during the afternoon. Trump said he has “ideas” of what he’d like to do but had not made a “final decision.”

“I like to make a final decision one second before it’s due, because things change,” Trump said.

Minutes later, Trump said that he believes Iran was a “few weeks away” from being able to produce a nuclear weapon.

Earlier in the day, the president said that Iran wants to negotiate with the United States — an assertion that Tehran immediately knocked down − and suggested his own interest in nuclear negotiations is waning. Trump told reporters there’s a “big difference” between tensions now and a week ago, when the U.S. committed to talks with Iran to shut down its uranium enrichment program.

Still, Trump said the Iranians had suggested talks at the White House, so he could personally be involved negotiations that his special envoy Steve Witkoff had been leading.

In a statement posted on social media, Iran’s mission to the United Nations responded forcefully. It said no one from its government had ever “asked to grovel at the gates of the White House.” It further condemned a threat from Trump against its supreme leader.

“Iran does NOT negotiate under duress, shall NOT accept peace under duress, and certainly NOT with a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance. Iran shall respond to any threat with a counter-threat, and to any action with reciprocal measures,” the statement said.

Trump to decide on US action in Israel-Iran conflict within two weeks

Watch: Trump to make decision on Iran strikes within two weeks, White House says

Earlier, Iran’s deputy foreign minister told the BBC it would cause “hell” in the region if the US got involved, adding: “This is not America’s war.”

“Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.”

US President Donald Trump will decide whether or not the US gets directly involved in the Iran-Israel conflict within the next two weeks, the White House has said.

The news comes 24 hours after Trump said he had not made up his mind on joining the conflict.

Asked what the message was for “everyday Trump supporters” who have concerns about US involvement, Leavitt said to “trust in President Trump”.

She added that the president’s “top priority” is ensuring that Iran does not successfully construct a nuclear weapon.

The press secretary has so far repeatedly declined to discuss “hypotheticals”, including on whether Iranian officials could come to the White House, or whether Trump would seek approval from Congress over any US involvement.

Trump and his administration have sought to maintain an air of strategic ambiguity – not revealing much publicly about their thinking or potential courses of action.

“I may do it,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “I may not do it.”

The administration has maintained it believes that Iran has “never been closer” to successfully building a nuclear weapon.

Trump has dismissed intelligence assessments – including some given by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in Congress earlier this year – that Iran was not planning to do so.

Speculation mounted about Trump’s intentions on Wednesday after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei rejected his demand for surrender.

The BBC’s US partner CBS reported that Trump had approved plans to attack Iran, but had not made a final decision on whether to go ahead.

The US president was holding off in case Iran agreed to abandon its nuclear programme, an intelligence source said.

On Thursday Trump responded on Truth Social, saying the Wall Street Journal, where the reports first appeared, had “no idea what my thoughts are concerning Iran”. He did not address whether plans had been approved.

The president is reportedly considering strikes on the Iranian nuclear site Fordo, a subterranean uranium enrichment facility.

Iran insists Fordo is used for civilian purposes only.

The site’s location, hidden away in a mountainside, puts it out of reach of Israel’s weaponry. Only the US is considered to have a bomb that might be large enough to destroy Fordo.

Diplomatic efforts are under way as the conflict continues, with European foreign ministers set to meet their Iranian counterpart in Switzerland on Friday.

Leavitt said that correspondence between American negotiators and the Iranians was continuing.

Reuters earlier reported that US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi had spoken on the phone several times since Israel began its strikes on Iran last week, in a bid to find a diplomatic end to the crisis.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh told the BBC he was hoping for diplomacy as a “first option”, but that while bombardment continues “we cannot start any negotiation”.

He said US involvement would be “hell for the whole region”, that would turn the conflict into a “quagmire”, continue aggression, and delay an end to the “brutal atrocities”.

This is “not America’s war” and if Trump does get involved, he will always be remembered as “a president who entered a war he doesn’t belong in”, Khatibzadeh added.

Trump’s two-week deadline came after a hospital in southern Israel was hit during an Iranian missile attack on Thursday morning.

Iranian state media reported that the strike targeted a military site next to the hospital, and not the facility itself.

The U.S. State Department today said the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and the consulate in Tel Aviv would remain closed through the end of the work week.

“Given the security situation and in compliance with Israel Home Front Command guidance, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem will be closed tomorrow (Wednesday, June 18) through Friday (June 20),” the department’s travel account on X stated.

The closure applies to the consular office in Tel Aviv, it said.

Amid this week’s “do not travel” advisory for Americans who planned trips to Israel, the department said information on possible help for private citizens who want to leave the region is unavailable for now, and it cannot endorse third-party travel options.

The country’s main airport, Ben Gurion International, is closed amid the exchange of air attacks. The U.S. Department of State said some non-emergency government employees and family of employees were authorized to leave, but should shelter in place amid the lack of outbound travel.