US President Donald Trump has reportedly told Vice President JD Vance and his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to reach out to Iranian officials for a meeting this week amid escalating fighting between Tehran and Jerusalem.
A US official told The New York Times that Trump is encouraging such a meeting and believes that it will be well received by Iran.
According to a report in Axios, such a meeting is likely between Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also heading back to Washington and leaving the G7 Summit early, along with Trump, CBS News reports.
Trump and the White House said earlier that the US president was going to leave early due to the situation in the Middle East.
American officials have denied reports that the US is playing a role in strikes on Iran, and both Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have said that they are still exploring diplomatic paths.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
