Donald Trump has issued Iran with an ultimatum as the US President confirmed a deadline for a decision on joining Israel's Tehran bombing blitz.
Issuing a statement through the White House's Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Trump said a decision will be made "within two weeks".
Leavitt said the President believes there is "a substantial chance of negotiation" with Iran.
While she insisted Trump was pursuing a diplomatic solution with Iran, his top priority was ensuring that Tehran could not obtain a nuclear weapon.
Donald Trump has issued an update
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A view of the aftermath of Israeli strike on Iran’s State TV broadcaster building
REUTERS
Citing a direct quotation from Trump, Leavitt told reporters: "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."
She continued: "The President is always interested in a diplomatic solution...he is a peacemaker in chief. He is the peace through strength President. And so if there's a chance for diplomacy, the President's always going to grab it...but he's not afraid to use strength as well, I will add."
Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran on Thursday, and Iran fired missiles and drones at Israel after hitting an Israeli hospital overnight, as the conflict ramped up between the two countries.
Leavitt said Trump had been briefed on the Israeli operation and Iran would face grave consequences if it did not agree to halt its work on a nuclear weapon.
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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a press briefing
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A building at the campus of the Weizmann Institute of Science remains damaged following an Iranian missile strike in Rehovot, Israel
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Three diplomats told reporters that the White House's special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi have spoken by phone several times since last week.
In an apparent reference to the US, Iran's Supreme National Security Council said it would use a different strategy if a "third party" joined Israel in the war.
On the ground in Iran, the extent of the damage has become more difficult to assess in recent days, with the authorities apparently seeking to prevent panic by limiting information to the international press.
Iran has stopped giving updates on the death toll, and state media have ceased showing widespread images of destruction. The internet has been almost completely shut down, and the public has been banned from filming.
Arash, 33, a Government employee in Tehran, said a building next to his home in Tehran’s Shahrak-e Gharb neighbourhood had been destroyed in the strikes.
He said: "I saw at least three dead children and two women in that building. Is this how Netanyahu plans to 'liberate' Iranians? Stay away from our country."
Samira, 11, moved in with her grandparents in the northwestern city of Urmia after her family fled Tehran when a shopping centre near their house was struck. She said she has been unable to sleep at night.
She said: "I’m afraid Israel will hit our home and my mom will die. I’m too scared. I just want to go home."
Meanwhile, in Israel, the missile strikes over the past week are the first time a significant number of projectiles from Iran have pierced defences and killed Israelis in their homes.
The director general of the Israeli hospital that was damaged in Beersheba, Shlomi Kodesh, told reporters at the site that a missile strike had destroyed several wards and wounded 40 people, mostly staff and patients.
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