During a bill signing ceremony, President Trump reacted to reports that Israel may soon choose to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, stating, “We are fairly close to an agreement (with Iran)…I much prefer an agreement…as long as I think there is an agreement, I don’t want them (Israel) going in, because I think that would blow it.

He continued that “(Israeli strikes) Might help it actually, but it also could blow it. But we've had very good discussions with Iran. Whether or not we get there, I can't tell you, but it'll happen soon.

“We have a lot of American people in this area. And I said, ‘we’ve got to tell them to get out, because something could happen soon,’” He added. “And I don't want to be the one that didn't give any warning and missiles are flying into their buildings. It's possible. So I had to do it, you know? I had the choice, do I do it or not. Doing it has its downside, but it also has its upside, like you're going to save a lot of lives if it should happen. Hopefully that doesn't happen.”

During an interview with Pod Force One, President Trump stated that “They (Iran) seem to be delaying, and I think that’s a shame, but I’m less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago. Something happened to them, but I am much less confident of a deal being made.”

He continued, “Well, if they don’t make a deal, they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon…If they do make a deal, they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon, too, you know? But they’re not going to have a new nuclear weapon, so it’s not going to matter from that standpoint…But it would be nicer to do it without warfare, without people dying, it’s so much nicer to do it. But I don’t think I see the same level of enthusiasm for them to make a deal. I think they would make a mistake, but we’ll see. I guess time will tell.”

Speaking with the White House Press Pool, President Trump described his latest phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu where the two had discussed Iran, with the President also explicitly stating that there will be a meeting with Iran on Thursday, June 12:

“Yeah, we discussed a lot of things, & it went very well, very smooth. We'll see what happens. You know, we're trying to do something with a country we just spoke about, Iran. I think you should negotiate this…They are good negotiators, but they're tough. Sometimes they can be too tough. That's the problem. We're trying to make a deal so that there's no destruction and death…And we've told them that, and I've told them that. I hope that's the way it works out, but it might not work out that way. We'll soon find out.”

He continued, “We have a meeting with Iran on Thursday. So we're going to wait till Thursday.”

When further asked what the main impediment to a deal is, the President stated: “Well, they're just asking for things that you can't do. They don't want to give up. They seek enrichment. We can't have enrichment. We want just the opposite. And so far, they're not there…I hate to say that, because the alternative is a very, very dire one, but they're not there. They have given us their thoughts on the deal. I said, you know, it's just not acceptable.”

Following a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Trump posted the following statement to Truth Social describing the call, which included discussion of Iran and current efforts to secure a nuclear deal:

“I just finished speaking, by telephone, with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia. The call lasted approximately one hour and 15 minutes. We discussed the attack on Russia’s docked airplanes, by Ukraine, and also various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides. It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace. President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields. We also discussed Iran, and the fact that time is running out on Iran’s decision pertaining to nuclear weapons, which must be made quickly! I stated to President Putin that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and, on this, I believe that we were in agreement. President Putin suggested that he will participate in the discussions with Iran and that he could, perhaps, be helpful in getting this brought to a rapid conclusion. It is my opinion that Iran has been slowwalking their decision on this very important matter, and we will need a definitive answer in a very short period of time!”

During a commemoration marking the death of Ayatollah Khomeini, Supreme Leader Khamenei delivered a speech where he firmly pledged that Iran will not abandon its uranium enrichment. He stated, “If we have a hundred nuclear power plants but no enrichment capability, they are worthless…If we don’t enrich ourselves, we’ll have to extend a begging hand to America—and they will impose conditions.”

He added, “Who are you to decide whether Iran should enrich uranium or not? What business is it of yours?” In his speech, Khamenei also described “that “very few countries in the world” possess Iran’s full nuclear fuel cycle capability, and called the nuclear issue “a national matter and a symbol of independence.”

The U.S. has reportedly halted the implementation of new rounds of maximum pressure sanctions. According to The Wall Street Journal, “The instruction to pause Iran activity—with no endpoint provided—followed soon after a routine sanctions designation from Treasury had been blocked. Since then, at least two more designations on the Treasury calendar have stalled. No new U.S. sanctions designations toward Iran have been announced since May 21.”

It remains unclear what prompted the halt, or how long it will last. Shortly after the pause took effect, the U.S. sent Iran a new proposal for a nuclear agreement framework.

Axios reported that Special Envoy Witkoff sent Iran "a detailed and acceptable proposal" for a nuclear deal on Saturday. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that it’s "in Iran's best interest to accept the proposal." Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Araghchi stated that Iran will respond to the proposal "in line with the principles, national interests and rights of the Iranian people."

During a press conference, President Trump was asked about having warned Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu against taking military action against Iranian nuclear sites and provided the following remarks:

“I said I don’t think it’s appropriate. We’re having very good discussions with them, and I said I don’t think it’s appropriate right now. Because if we can settle it with a very strong document — very strong — with inspections and no trust. I don’t trust anybody…so no trust. I want it very strong where we can go in with inspectors, we can take whatever we want, can blow up whatever we want, but nobody getting killed. We can blow up a lab but nobody’s going to be in the lab, as opposed to everybody being in the lab and blowing it up, right? Two ways of doing it. Yeah, I told them this would be inappropriate to do right now because we’re very close to a solution. Now, that could change at any moment. It could change with a phone call. But right now I think they want to make a deal, and if we can make a deal, save a lot of lives.”

Following the fifth round of nuclear talks with the U.S., mediated by Oman, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi stated to Iranian media that the latest round of negotiations were “one of the most professional” to date, noting that discussions are very complicated and that further negotiations are needed. He added “Given today’s discussions and the solutions proposed by Oman to help overcome the barriers, there is potential for progress. If these solutions are taken seriously in the next round, we can move into detailed negotiations.”

A statement from the U.S. on the talks read: "The talks continue to be constructive — we made further progress, but there is still work to be done. Both sides agreed to meet again in the near future. We are grateful to our Omani partners for their continued facilitation."

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted the following statement to X/Twitter regarding recent reports of U.S. intelligence indicating that Israel is preparing for a potential attack against Iranian nuclear facilities:

“Threats from the rogue Israeli regime are nothing new. But the recent leak citing US officials as divulging Israeli plans for an unlawful attack on Iran and its nuclear facilities is alarming and warrants immediate and serious condemnation from the UN Security Council and the IAEA.

In a letter to UNSG Guterres and IAEA DG Grossi, I have called on the international community to take effective preventive measures against the continuation of Israeli threats, which if unchecked, will compel Iran to take special measures in defense of our nuclear facilities and materials.

My letter is a serious pre-action warning. The nature, content, and extent of our actions will correspond and be proportionate to preventive measures taken by these international bodies in accordance with their statutory duties and obligations.

Evidently, the Wanted War Criminal Netanyahu—desperate to dictate what the U.S. can and cannot do—spares no effort to derail diplomacy and divert attention from his ICC arrest warrant.

The Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to forcefully respond to any transgression and will stop at nothing to protect its interests and people.”