June 16, 2025 – Israel-Iran conflict

President Donald Trump has directed members of his team to attempt a meeting with Iranian officials as quickly as possible, according to a person familiar with the matter and a US official, as he urgently works to determine whether Tehran is serious about diplomacy to resolve its conflict with Israel.

Since Israel launched its first wave of missiles last week, the president has maintained publicly that Iran should come to the table to strike a deal with the United States, while privately urging his team to keep lines of communication open with the Iranians and Iranian intermediaries.

In conversations with European leaders at the G7 summit in Canada, Trump told his counterparts that discussions were underway to obtain a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, and signaled he wanted US officials to meet their Iranian counterparts this week.

A US official told CNN that while nothing was set, Israel and Iran were moving in the right direction. Trump acknowledged that the Iranians had been in touch through intermediaries earlier Monday.

He was less candid about what his plans could be should those diplomatic efforts fall short, including whether he would deploy US military assets to join Israel in attempting to dismantle Iran’s nuclear facilities.

As of Monday evening, the White House insisted the US had not joined Israel in attacking Iran.

“American forces are maintaining their defensive posture, and that has not changed. We will defend American interests,” Alex Pfeiffer, a White House spokesman, wrote on X.