Iran could make nuclear bomb in ‘a couple of weeks’, says White House

The White House on Thursday (Jun 19) said that Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in the space of a “couple of weeks”. This comes as the conflict between Israel and Iran enters the seventh day, with both sides engaging in missile and drone attacks. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said that he will decide whether the United States will join Israel in its military operations against Iran in the next two weeks, the White House said in a statement.

“Iran has all that it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon. All they need is a decision from the supreme leader to do that, and it would take a couple of weeks to complete the production of that weapon,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during a press briefing on Thursday.

Reading out a message from the US president, Leavitt said that there had been “a lot of speculation” about whether the US will get “directly involved” in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

“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,” Trump said in the statement.

Iran and European diplomats said that talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme will be held in Geneva on Friday. Top officials from Britain, France, Germany, the European Union, along with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, will be present at the discussions.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Trump has approved attack plans but is waiting to see if Iran will give up its nuclear programme. However, in a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, “The Wall Street Journal has No Idea what my thoughts are concerning Iran!”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said that Israel is capable of striking all Iranian nuclear facilities, including Fordow. He also claimed that Israel had destroyed more than half of Iran’s missile launchers as the fighting continues on the seventh day.