WASHINGTON D.C., USA – International pleas for de-escalation in the Middle East appear to be going unheeded as the world braces for a potential intensification of conflict. All eyes are now on the White House as U.S. President Donald Trump considers direct military strikes on Iran. Such an action would significantly deepen U.S. involvement beyond the current exchanges between Iran and its ally, Israel.

The White House announced on Thursday that President Trump is expected to decide within two weeks whether to initiate strikes against Iran.

Concerns are mounting globally. The Kremlin issued a stark warning on Thursday, stating that U.S. intervention in Iran would trigger a “terrible spiral of escalation.” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told Reuters that the world is now “millimeters” away from a nuclear catastrophe. This alarming statement comes as Russia remains embroiled in its own conflict in Ukraine, which includes ongoing contention over a major nuclear power plant.

In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Keir Starmer chaired an emergency Cobra meeting – the country’s national crisis management system – as the government works to evacuate the families of staff from the British embassy in Tel Aviv. This high-level intelligence briefing followed Starmer’s participation in the G7 summit in Canada, where he joined other leaders in reiterating their “commitment to peace and stability.”

However, prospects for diplomacy appear increasingly dim as Iran and Israel continue to exchange increasingly deadly blows, and leaders on both sides show no signs of backing down from the brink.

President Trump remained noncommittal regarding a U.S. attack on Iran. “I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do. I can tell you this, that Iran’s got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate,” he told reporters on the White House lawn on Wednesday. He added that “the next week is going to be big,” later stating from the Oval Office that he prefers to “make the final decision one second before it’s due… because things change. Especially with war.”

International Reactions and Diplomatic Efforts

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz sparked controversy with comments in an interview on Tuesday, suggesting Israel was doing the “dirty work” for other countries by striking Iran’s nuclear sites. “I can only say I have the greatest respect for the fact that the Israeli army and the Israeli government had the courage to do this,” Merz told a German broadcaster. Foreign ministers from Germany, France, and the U.K. are scheduled to meet with their Iranian counterpart on Friday.

Meanwhile, China’s Xinhua state media service quoted Chinese Premier Xi Jinping emphasizing that a ceasefire between Israel and Iran is “an urgent priority” and that the use of force is not the right approach to resolve the conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Xi held a phone call on Thursday, where both leaders “strongly condemned Israel,” asserting that the country’s actions in Iran “violated the UN Charter and other norms of international law,” according to a Kremlin aide. Both leaders, who are allies of Iran, stressed that military action would not resolve Western and Israeli concerns over Iran’s nuclear program, advocating for diplomacy as the only way forward.

These developments follow President Trump’s earlier demands on Truth Social for Iran to unconditionally surrender, along with a warning that the U.S. has the capability to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei responded by stating that any American attack on Iran would be met with “irreparable damage” and would ignite a wider war.

Overnight, Israel and Iran exchanged missile barrages. Israel reportedly struck Iran’s Arak and Natanz nuclear facilities, while Iran claimed to have hit a hospital in Israel’s Negev region after targeting a military site. Authorities reported at least 30 injuries in the hospital strike, prompting Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz to declare after the attack that Iran’s leader “can no longer be allowed to exist.”