Overview
- President Donald Trump said he is considering a limited strike and signaled a roughly 10–15 day window for a decision, with some officials indicating action could come as soon as this weekend.
- The United States has surged forces into the region, with the USS Abraham Lincoln in theater, the USS Gerald R. Ford en route, added airpower and missile defenses, and oil markets pricing higher risk to Strait of Hormuz flows.
- Two rounds of indirect talks in Muscat and Geneva involved IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, produced guiding principles but left core gaps, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says a written counterproposal will be ready within days.
- U.S. demands include zero enrichment, strict missile limits and curbs on proxies, yet reporting indicates the White House may assess a narrowly defined ‘token’ enrichment allowance if every pathway to a weapon is blocked.
- Iran warned that any U.S. attack would trigger a decisive response against regional U.S. assets, conducted joint naval drills with Russia in the Gulf of Oman, and Israeli officials told Reuters they see a high risk of near-term escalation, with reported U.S. options extending to leadership-targeting scenarios.