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Will the US play a Trump card in Iran?

June 17, 2025
Zac Weisz
​US President Donald Trump at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, USA, on June 17, 2025.
US President Donald Trump gestures after returning early from the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Canada, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, USA, on June 17, 2025.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

As he left the G7 summit early on Monday, US President Donald Trump declared that he wants to bring a “real end” to the Israel-Iran conflict, and urged citizens of Tehran to evacuate. Washington also moved to bolster its military options in the Middle East.

What is Trump after? Speculation continues to swirl about whether the US will risk getting involved more directly in the destruction of Iran’s nuclear facilities, or whether Trump is using Israel’s current pummeling of the Islamic Republic as leverage for a wider negotiated settlement to the nuclear issue and the Iran-Israel conflict. The president emphasized that he doesn’t seek a mere ceasefire, but rather something “much bigger.” (For more on Trump’s options, see here.)

Meanwhile in Tehran: Iran, suffering from Israel’s aerial bombardment, reportedly signaled that it wants to return to the negotiating table, but remained unwilling to make new concessions.

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