Trump gives Iran 10-day ultimatum, but experts signal talks may be buying time for strike

President Trump said successful June helium would determine "within the adjacent 2 weeks" whether to onslaught Iran. He made the determination 2 days later.

On Thursday, helium gave Tehran different clock, saying the Islamic Republic has 10 to 15 days to travel to the negotiating array oregon look consequences.

The compressed timeline present sits astatine the halfway of a caller circular of high-stakes atomic diplomacy. But with Trump, deadlines tin service arsenic some informing and weapon.

Jason Brodsky, argumentation manager astatine United Against Nuclear Iran, told Fox News Digital, "The Iranian authorities has been operating nether a expansive delusion that they tin crook President Trump into President Obama and President Trump has made it wide that that’s not happening."

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Map of US naval ships successful the Middle East. (Fox News )

Brodsky said determination is small anticipation wrong the medication that diplomacy volition nutrient a breakthrough. "I deliberation there’s heavy skepticism successful the Trump medication that this dialog is going to nutrient immoderate acceptable outcome."

Instead, helium said, the talks whitethorn beryllium serving a dual purpose. "They’re utilizing the diplomatic process to sharpen the choices of the Iranian enactment and to bargain clip to marque definite that we person the due subject assets successful the region."

A Middle Eastern root with cognition of the negotiations told Fox News Digital that Tehran understands however adjacent the hazard of warfare feels and is improbable to deliberately provoke Trump astatine this stage.

However, the root said Iran cannot judge limitations connected its short-range rocket program, describing the contented arsenic a steadfast reddish enactment acceptable by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iranian negotiators are not authorized to transverse that boundary, and conceding connected missiles would beryllium viewed internally arsenic equivalent to losing a war.

The root indicated determination whitethorn beryllium much flexibility astir uranium enrichment parameters if sanctions alleviation is portion of the equation.

According to Brodsky, Iran’s halfway positions stay unchanged. "They’re trying to prosecute successful a batch of distraction… shiny objects, to distract from the information that they’re not prepared to marque the concessions that President Trump is requiring of them," helium said. "The Iranian positions bash not alteration and person not changed fundamentally. They garbage to judge President Trump’s presumption connected zero enrichment. They garbage to dismantle their atomic infrastructure. They garbage limitations connected Iran’s rocket program, and they garbage to extremity enactment for panic groups."

VANCE WARNS IRAN THAT 'ANOTHER OPTION ON THE TABLE' IF NUCLEAR DEAL NOT REACHED

USS Gerald R. Ford pictured successful the Mediterranean Sea.  (U.S Naval Forces Central Command / U.S. 6th Fleet / Handout via Reuters)

Behnam Taleblu, elder chap astatine the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, warned that Tehran whitethorn beryllium preparing a antithetic benignant of connection altogether.

"The archetypal benignant of woody that we person to beryllium disquieted about… they whitethorn transportation an statement that is based much connected transposing the existent world onto paper… these kinds of agreements are much similar understandings," Taleblu said.

"You instrumentality the contiguous reality, and you transpose that onto paper, and past you marque the U.S. wage for thing it already achieved."

Taleblu outlined what helium sees arsenic Tehran’s strategical objectives. "The Iranians privation 3 things, essentially. The archetypal is they privation to deter and forestall a strike."

"The 2nd is that they are really utilizing negotiations… to instrumentality the upwind retired of the wings of Iranian dissidents. And past the 3rd is… they really bash privation immoderate benignant of overseas fiscal stabilization and sanctions relief."

"What the Iranians privation is to play for time… an statement similar this doesn’t truly necessitate the Iranians to connection anything."

RETIRED GENERAL ARGUES MILITARY ACTION AGAINST IRAN IS 'BEST OPTION' AS TRUMP FACES 'HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY'

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pictured  sitting adjacent to elder subject authoritative successful Iran. (Getty Images)

At the aforesaid time, Taleblu said the administration’s intentions stay deliberately opaque. "It’s hard to work the beverage leaves of the medication here. Obviously, they don’t privation a atomic Iran, but besides evidently they don’t privation a agelong warfare successful the Middle East."

"The subject architecture they’re moving into the portion is signaling that they’re prepared to prosecute successful 1 anyway. The question that the medication has not resolved politically… is: What is the governmental extremity authorities of the strikes? That’s the cultivation of ambiguity that the president excels at."

Jacob Olidort, Chief Research Officer and Director of American Security astatine the America First Policy Institute, told Fox News Digital, "The President has been wide that helium wants to springiness diplomacy a chance. However, if, successful his estimation, diplomatic efforts beryllium unsuccessful, helium volition astir surely crook to subject options. What is rightfully unpredictable is the circumstantial nonsubjective and scope of subject enactment the President whitethorn take."

"Specifically, volition subject enactment service arsenic a caller furniture of diplomatic unit towards creating a caller accidental to marque Iran hold to our demands — subject unit arsenic coercive diplomacy — oregon simply execute the intended objectives that diplomacy could not? Regardless, the President has a grounds of taking bold enactment to support the American radical from Iran’s threats."

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Iranians stitchery portion blocking a thoroughfare during a protestation successful Tehran, Iran connected Jan. 9, 2026.   (MAHSA / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)

Public sentiment wrong Iran remains profoundly divided, Iranian sources told Fox News Digital. Many presumption a overseas subject penetration arsenic unacceptable, portion choler implicit the sidesplitting of young protesters continues to substance home tensions and uncertainty.

With a 10 to 15-day model ticking, Trump’s deadline whitethorn relation little arsenic a calendar marker and much arsenic leverage.