President Donald Trump will make a final decision on whether the United States military will strike Iran within "the next two weeks" amid ongoing negotiations, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during her daily briefing on Thursday (June 19) via the New York Post.

“Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,” Leavitt said.

“Iran has all that it needs to keep a nuclear weapon,” she added. “All they need is a decision from the Supreme leader to do that.”

Trump had previously said that Iran officials were looking to go to the White House and speak with him directly and acknowledged that it may be difficult given that they would travel from Tehran, where Israel has launched targeted strikes amid their ongoing conflict.

“If there’s a chance for diplomacy, he’s not afraid to grab it,” Leavitt said of Trump.

Israel reportedly struck a key Iranian nuclear site amid an attack on its hospital that left dozens injured and caused severe damage, the New York Post reports. The Israeli military claimed it struck a partially built heavy water research reactor at the Khondab nuclear cite in Arak, Iran, overnight.

Several Iranian missiles struck Israel early Thursday morning, which included the Soroka Medical Center in Beer Sheba, the main hospital in the southern region of the country. At least 40 people were injured in the hospital attack, which resulted in significant damage as shown in a video recorded from inside the building.

“Dozens of ballistic missiles were launched at Israel in the last barrage from Iran, with several hits to civilian population centres (including the Soroka hospital in southern Israel),” an Israeli military official confirmed to the New York Post. “IDF Homefront Command Search and Rescue teams have been dispatched to several reported impact sites.”

The hospital was shut down to new patients, making an exception only for individuals experiencing life-threatening situations, after the strike took place.

Bob Delmont