Trump during the Board of Peace meeting. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty
President Trump gave a 10-day timeline on Thursday for deciding whether to continue diplomacy with Iran or order a military strike.
Why it matters: U.S. and Israeli officials tell Axios a military operation against Iran would likely be a massive, weeks-long campaign — and could begin within days.
What he’s saying: “Now we may have to take it a step further or we may not. Maybe we are going to make a deal [with Iran]. You are going to be finding out over the next probably 10 days,” Trump said during the Gaza Board of Peace meeting in Washington on Thursday.
State of play: Trump convened his top advisers on Wednesday for a meeting on the crisis with Iran.
- Trump was briefed on the nuclear talks held earlier this week in Geneva and the group discussed next steps.
- Trump said on Thursday that the talks went well but Iran has to make “a meaningful deal, otherwise bad things will happen.”
What to watch: One U.S. official said the Iranians need to come back to the Trump administration by the end of the month with a package of steps to address the concerns the U.S. presented in Geneva regarding their nuclear program.
- U.S. officials say the arrival of the USS Ford aircraft carrier and its strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean in the coming days will be a key factor in the timing of a possible military campaign against Iran.
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https://www.axios.com/2026/02/19/trump-iran-strike-10-day-deal