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The Times's Jerusalem bureau chief explains what President Trump's delay in deciding whether to intervene in the Israel-Iran war means for the people of both countries.
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Negotiating with Tehran is time-consuming and difficult under the best of circumstances. And it remains unclear whether President Trump's 14-day clock is more than a way to buy time for military preparations.
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Trump said he was waiting to see "whether or not people come to their senses."
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As Israeli warplanes continue to pummel Tehran and other parts of the country, President Trump has given mixed messages on whether the U.S. will join Israel's war on Iran. Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt delivered a message on Thursday that Trump will decide on direct U.S. involvement in the next two weeks. Leavitt delivered the message shortly after Trump met with his former advisor Steve Bannon who has publicly warned against war with Iran. The U.S. is reportedly considering dropping "bunker buster" bombs on underground Iranian nuclear facilities. "It's reminiscent of the beginning of the Iraq War, when they said it's going to be a cakewalk," says William Hartung, senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
A U.S.-based Iranian human rights group reports that the Israeli attacks have killed at least 639 people in Iran, while Iran's retaliatory strikes in Israel have killed an estimated two dozen.
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President Trump spent the first months of his term holding back Israel's push for an assault on Iran's nuclear program. With the war underway, he has now expressed support for Israel. Jonathan Swan, a White House reporter for The New York Times, breaks down how the president got to this point.
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