Trump gives Iran 10-day nuclear deal ultimatum
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- Trump said at his Board of Peace meeting in Washington DC that the world will find out "over the next, probably, 10 days" whether the US reaches a nuclear deal with Iran, warning that "bad things happen" if a meaningful agreement is not reached.
- Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had "some very good meetings" with Iranian negotiators in Switzerland, though progress was reported alongside a US military buildup that includes the deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.
- Iran told UN Secretary-General António Guterres that it will regard US bases in the region as legitimate targets if used in any military aggression, while Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei posted on social media that a weapon capable of sending a US warship "to the bottom of the sea" is more dangerous than the warship itself.
- The British government has not given permission for the US to use UK military bases to support any potential strikes on Iran, the BBC understands, a break from prior US operations that used RAF Fairford and the UK overseas territory of Diego Garcia.
- Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) said they will try to force a congressional vote next week under the 1973 War Powers Act, though the source notes the chances of passage in both chambers are not strong — following a similar resolution blocked by Senate Republicans in January over Venezuela operations.
- The Board of Peace, initially thought to be aimed at ending the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, now appears designed to sideline the United Nations, with some wondering if the Trump-chaired body of about two dozen countries is meant to replace multilateral institutions.
Why it matters: Trump's 10-day ultimatum compresses a months-long diplomatic process into a single deadline backed by visible military force — the USS Abraham Lincoln deployment and reinforced US regional presence — while Iran warns it will treat US bases as legitimate targets. The 90-million-person country has significant air defenses, per Rep. Khanna, and thousands of US troops could face retaliation, with no congressional authorization in sight.
