Trump opens two-week window for Iran diplomacy amid escalating conflict with Israel
Washington DC: US President Donald Trump has granted a two-week window for diplomatic engagement with Iran before deciding on possible military intervention, even as Israel continues its bombing campaign targeting Iranian infrastructure, according to a CNN report.
Trump and his advisers are hoping that sustained Israeli strikes and Iran’s missile losses may pressure Tehran into halting its uranium enrichment, a core demand from Washington that Iran has long resisted. The temporary pause in escalation is also being seen as a calculated move by Trump to avoid entangling the United States in another prolonged foreign conflict.
Despite suggestions of sending Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Vice President JD Vance to the region, both remain in Washington as no formal negotiations have been scheduled. Meanwhile, European foreign ministers from Britain, Germany, and France are set to meet with Iranian representatives in Geneva on Friday to revisit Witkoff’s earlier proposal.
However, Tehran has reiterated it will not engage in talks with the US unless Israel ceases its bombing campaign. Iranian officials have accused Washington of failing to restrain Israeli aggression, further hardening their stance.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized that diplomacy remains on the table, but warned of American military strength if diplomacy fails. "Iran and the entire world should know that the United States military is the strongest and most lethal fighting force in the world," she said.
Inside the Situation Room, Trump has reviewed multiple military options, including the possible use of bunker-buster bombs on Iran's underground nuclear facility at Fordow. However, concerns over the potential for a multi-year war have led Trump and several of his advisers, including former strategist Steve Bannon, to approach the situation with caution.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been in active contact with allies, stressing the need to ensure Iran never acquires nuclear weapons. Ahead of Friday's Geneva meeting, Rubio spoke with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who reiterated, "Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon."
A senior White House official described the upcoming Geneva talks as a "temperature check" to assess Iran's willingness to engage diplomatically amid escalating hostilities.
Special Envoy Witkoff has maintained indirect channels with Tehran, but there has been no sign of a shift in Iran’s position through third-party mediators.
Tensions between Israel and Iran have sharply escalated since June 13, when Israel launched Operation "Rising Lion," striking targets linked to Iran’s nuclear program. Iran responded with retaliatory missile attacks, marking a dangerous new phase in the conflict.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
