Iran Refuses To Negotiate With U.S. After Trump Sets 2-Week Deadline

Iran said on Friday that it has rejected “several” calls for negotiations from the United States after President Donald Trump gave a two-week deadline for his decision on possibly striking the Islamic Republic, leaving the door open for talks with Tehran.

Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in an address on state television, “Americans want to negotiate and have sent messages several times, but we clearly said that as long as this aggression doesn’t stop, there’s no place for talk of dialogue,” the New York Post reported. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, rejected Trump’s call for the country to surrender on Wednesday as Israel continues to pound Iranian nuclear facilities and missile launchers from the sky and take out the regime’s military leaders.

“Wise individuals who know Iran, its people and its history never speak to this nation with the language of threats, because the Iranian nation is not one to surrender,” Khamenei said.

“Americans should know that any military involvement by the U.S. will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage to them,” he added.

Iran escalated the conflict with Israel on Thursday morning, striking a major Israeli hospital. President Trump said on Thursday that he would decide whether to attack Iran “within the next two weeks.”

“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,” the president said in a statement shared by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

.@PressSec shares a message from President Trump: "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." pic.twitter.com/r3yVnbZHAC

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 19, 2025

While Trump gave a two-week timeline for a decision on Iran, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel that the U.S. ally expects Trump to decide on striking Iran within 24 to 48 hours. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said that it’s “entirely” up to Trump to decide if the United States “wants to join or not,” adding that he speaks to Trump “almost daily.”

“He’ll do what’s good for the United States, and I’ll do what’s good for the State of Israel,” Netanyahu continued.

If the United States joins Israel in direct strikes on Iran, reports suggest that it could be to drop the massive “bunker buster” bomb, which can only be carried by America’s B-2 Bombers. The “bunker buster” would likely target Iran’s Fordow nuclear site, which is built approximately 300 feet underground.

Trump also said earlier this week that the United States knows “exactly” where Ayatollah Khamenei is hiding, adding, “He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.”