Europe and Iran to hold talks as Trump sets two-week deadline for U.S. strikes decision

Top U.K., France and Germany diplomats are pushing for eleventh-hour diplomacy with Iran successful Geneva connected Friday, arsenic Washington weighs the anticipation of joining Israel's subject run against Tehran implicit the adjacent 2 weeks.

Iran and Israel person been trading occurrence for the past week, successful the latest climax of tensions that person been simmering since the Tehran-backed Hamas' violent onslaught against the Jewish authorities successful October 2023. Israel has since been warring a warfare connected aggregate battles against the Palestinian militant radical and different Iranian proxies, specified arsenic Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthi — which Tehran says are acting independently.

The struggle has risked further escalation since the commencement of the week, amid signals that the U.S. — historically a adjacent state and weapons supplier of Israel — could intervene militarily against Tehran.

 "Based connected the information that there's a important accidental of negotiations that whitethorn oregon whitethorn not instrumentality spot with Iran successful the future, I volition marque my determination whether oregon not to spell wrong the adjacent 2 weeks," U.S. President Donald Trump said, according to a connection work retired connected Thursday by White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.

Following a Thursday gathering with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and peculiar envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, U.K. Foreign Minister David Lammy said the 3 "discussed however a woody could debar a deepening conflict" and that "a model present exists wrong the adjacent 2 weeks to execute a diplomatic solution."

"There is nary country for negotiations with the U.S. until Israeli aggression stops," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is expected to be talks successful Geneva, was quoted arsenic saying connected Iranian authorities TV connected Friday, according to Reuters.

Trump's aversion to Iran's atomic programme has been a cardinal constituent of his statesmanship crossed some mandates. The White House person pulled the U.S. retired of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) during his archetypal presidency, tightening the noose connected Iran's coffers done a drawstring of stringent fiscal and oil-linked sanctions.

Self-proclaimed 'peacemaker' Trump has truthful acold fruitlessly pursued a 2nd atomic programme woody since the commencement of his 2nd term, initially expressing a penchant for a diplomatic breakthrough — the likes of which European officials are present hoping to strike.

"In the United States, [there are] galore governmental officials who are convinced that we indispensable not erstwhile much marque the errors of the past. What we saw successful Libya, what we saw successful Afghanistan, what we saw successful Iraq, we bash not privation to spot reproduced," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said successful a TV interrogation with French media, according to a CNBC translation.

Notably, the U.K., France and Germany — alongside Iran's allies Russia and China — were antecedently progressive successful the JCPOA with Washington and Tehran.

Markets person been rattled by the anticipation of the struggle destabilizing the wider oil-rich Middle East and perchance drafting successful the world's largest economy, spurring investors connected a formation to safe-haven assets and broader absorption connected defence companies and initiatives.