Trump to send vice president to Iran over Israel conflict

United States President Donald Trump says he might send U.S. Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff or Vice President JD Vance to meet with Iranian officials over the conflict with Israel.

Trump disclosed this on Tuesday, June 17, 2025.

The president said he wanted a “real end” to the nuclear dispute with Iran and indicated he may send senior American officials to meet with the Islamic Republic as the Israel-Iran air war raged for a fifth day.

Speaking to reporters after his early departure from Canada, where he attended the Group of Seven nations summit on Monday, Trump predicted that Israel would not be easing its attacks on Iran.

“You’re going to find out over the next two days. You’re going to find out. Nobody’s slowed up so far,” he said.

The United States government has said Trump is still aiming for a nuclear deal with Iran, even as the military confrontation unfolds.

Trump said his departure from the G7 summit had “nothing to do with” working on a deal between Israel and Iran, after French President Emmanuel Macron said the U.S. had initiated a ceasefire proposal, Reuters reported.

Israel, Iran trade missiles as Trump warns Tehran residents to evacuate

Something “much bigger” than that was expected, he said on his Truth Social platform late on Monday.

Israel launched its air war, its largest ever on Iran, after saying it concluded Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has pointed to its right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Israel, which is not a party to the NPT, is the only country in the Middle East widely believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stressed that he will not back down until Iran’s nuclear development is disabled, while Trump says the Israeli assault could end if Iran agrees to strict curbs on its nuclear programme.

Before the attack began, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years.

The IAEA said on Tuesday there were indications of direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls at the Natanz facility, and that there was no change to report at the Fordow and Isfahan sites.

The Star