President Trump said in June that he would decide “within the next two weeks” whether to attack Iran. Two days later he made the decision.
On Thursday, he gave Tehran another bell, saying the Islamic Republic has done so 10 to 15 days to come to the negotiating table or face the consequences.
The compressed timeline is now at the center of a new round of high-stakes nuclear diplomacy. But with Trump, deadlines can serve as both a warning and a weapon.
TRUMP MEETS NETANYAHU, SAYS HE WANTS A DEAL WITH IRAN, BUT REMINDS TEHRAN OF ‘MIDNIGHT HAMMER’ OPERATION
Brodsky said there is little expectation within the administration that diplomacy will provide a breakthrough. “I think there is deep skepticism in the Trump administration about whether these negotiations will lead to an acceptable outcome.”
Instead, he said, the talks could serve a dual purpose. “They are using the diplomatic process to tighten the Iranian leadership’s choices and buy time to ensure we have the right military assets in the region.”
However, the source said Iran cannot accept restrictions on its short-range missile program, describing the issue as a firm red line set by the Supreme Leader. Ali Khamenei. Iranian negotiators are not authorized to cross that line, and giving in to missiles would be seen internally as equivalent to losing a war.
The source indicated that there may be more flexibility around the parameters for uranium enrichment alleviate sanctions is part of the equation.
According to Brodsky, Iran’s core positions remain unchanged. “They are trying to create a lot of distractions… shiny objects, to distract from the fact that they are not willing to make the concessions that President Trump wants from them,” he said. “Iranian positions are not changing and have not fundamentally changed. They refuse to accept President Trump’s position on zero enrichment. They refuse to dismantle their nuclear infrastructure. They refuse restrictions on Iran’s missile program, and they refuse to end support for terrorist groups.”
VANCE WARNS IRAN THAT ‘ANOTHER OPTION ON THE TABLE’ IF NUCLEAR DEAL NOT REACHED
USS Gerald R. Ford pictured in the Mediterranean Sea. (U.S. Navy Central Command / U.S. 6th Fleet / Handout via Reuters)
Behnam Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, warned that Tehran may be preparing a very different kind of proposal.
“The first type of deal we should be concerned about… they can pitch an agreement that is more based on putting the current reality on paper… these types of agreements are more like agreements,” Taleblu said.
“You take the current reality, put it on paper, and then you make the US pay for something that it has already achieved.”
Taleblu outlined what he sees Tehran’s strategic objectives. “The Iranians essentially want three things. The first is that they want to deter and prevent an attack.”
“The second is that they are actually using negotiations … to take the wind out of the wings of Iranian dissidents. And the third is … they actually want some kind of foreign financial stabilization and sanctions relief.”
“What the Iranians want is to buy time… an agreement like this doesn’t really require the Iranians to have anything to offer.”
RETIRED GENERAL ARGUES MILITARY ACTION AGAINST IRAN ‘BEST OPTION’ AS TRUMP FACES ‘HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY’
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sits next to a senior military official in Iran. (Getty Images)
At the same time, Taleblu said the government’s intentions remain deliberately opaque. “It’s hard to read the administration’s tea leaves here. It’s clear they don’t want a nuclear Iran, but they obviously don’t want a long war in the Middle East either.”
“The military architecture The fact that they are entering the region indicates that they are willing to get started. The question that the government has not resolved politically… is: what is the political end state of the strikes? That is the cultivation of ambiguity that the president excels at.”
“Specifically, will military action serve as a new layer of diplomatic pressure to create a new opportunity to get Iran to agree to our demands – military force as coercive diplomacy – or simply achieve the intended objectives that diplomacy could not achieve? Either way, the President has a track record of taking bold action to protect the American people from Iran’s threats.”
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Iranians gather while blocking a street during a protest in Tehran, Iran on January 9, 2026. (MAHSA / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)
With 10 to 15 days to go, Trump’s deadline could act less as a calendar marker and more as leverage.
