U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 18th (local time) that the U.S. may or may not directly strike Iran's nuclear facilities.
During a meeting with reporters at the White House that morning, President Trump said, "No one knows what I will do with Iran."
When asked if Iran had proposed negotiations, he replied, "Yes. I said it was too late, that it's too late to talk," and added, "There is a very big difference between now and a week ago."
President Trump also criticized Iran for not accepting an offer to give up nuclear weapons in negotiations with the U.S. He stated, "They even said they would come to the White House," adding, "It's a brave thing but not an easy thing for them."
However, he did not completely rule out the possibility of negotiations with Iran. President Trump added, "Nothing is ever too late."
In response to a question asking if he had sent an ultimatum to Iran, he said, "You could say that. Maybe it could be called 'the ultimate ultimatum.'"
President Trump also noted that he speaks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu daily. He mentioned, "I told him to 'continue the attack on Iran.'"
President Trump returned to Washington, D.C., after shortening the schedule of the Group of Seven (G7) summit held in Canada by one day. The previous day, he discussed the escalation of the Israel-Iran conflict and the direct U.S. military intervention to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities with the national security team in the White House Situation Room.
However, the conclusions reached after the meeting, which lasted about 1 hour and 20 minutes, have not yet been made public.