Trump gives himself two weeks to decide on bombing Iran's nuclear sites

On June 19, 2025, President Donald J. Trump announced via Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt that he would decide “within the next two weeks” whether to strike Iran’s nuclear sites (Reuters, 🌲Washington Post).

In his first 20 weeks of a second term, Trump sought emergency relief from the Supreme Court 19 times—matching the Biden administration’s four-year total—and the Court ruled in his favor in 10 of 12 decided cases (NPR).

The Constitution vests the power to declare war in Congress (Art. I, § 8, cl. 11) and the Tenth Amendment reserves all other powers to the states or the people (Congress.gov).

Fordow is an underground uranium-enrichment facility near Qom designed to withstand conventional airstrikes; destroying it would require U.S. “bunker-buster” munitions (CBS News, IAEA, NTI).

A U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile costs roughly $1.5 million apiece—any large-scale strike on Iran would carry a multibillion-dollar price tag for taxpayers (CBO, GAO).

Since World War II (1941), Congress has not formally declared war; instead presidents have relied on Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs) or emergency powers (U.S. Senate, CRS).

The 1973 War Powers Resolution requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying armed forces and to secure congressional authorization within 60 days or withdraw forces (Congress.gov, CRS).

U.S. intelligence agencies report Iran has not yet taken the final decision to weaponize its enriched uranium, contradicting claims that a bomb is weeks away (DNI press releases, NBC News).

European diplomats from Britain, France, Germany and the EU have met with Iranian officials in Geneva to explore face-saving diplomatic solutions that could avert U.S. military action (Al Jazeera).

Before the two-week deadline, Trump demanded “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” from Iran on Truth Social—an ultimatum at odds with his subsequent talks by phone between envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran’s Abbas Araqchi (CNN, Reuters).