白宫周四明确表示，一旦得到阿亚图拉·阿里·哈梅内伊的许可，伊朗可以在“几周内”制造出核武器。
白宫新闻秘书卡洛林·莱维特在她的简报会上说:“让我们非常清楚，伊朗拥有获得核武器所需的一切。”“他们所需要的只是最高领导人做出这样的决定。”
“完成这种武器的生产需要几周时间，当然，这不仅会对美国构成生存威胁以色列但是对美国和整个世界，”她继续说。
伊朗离开发可用核武器有多近一直是以色列-伊朗冲突的核心关于潜在“突破时间线”的持续争论一旦国家储备了足够的武器级浓缩铀。
美国上一次给出官方公开的突破时间表是在2024年7月，当时的国务卿安东尼·布林肯说，伊朗需要一到两周的时间来浓缩足够的纯度为90%的铀，以获得核武器所需的裂变材料。
“一旦你达到了60%的浓缩度，你就完成了90%的浓缩度。从本质上说，你们是一个临界核武器国家，这就是伊朗基本上已经成为的样子，”国务卿马尔科·卢比奥在上个月的一次采访中说。
但是，如果伊朗要生产足够的武器级铀，大多数专家估计，伊朗需要几个月到两年的时间才能真正制造出可交付的核弹头。
今年3月，国家情报总监塔尔西·加巴德(Tulsi Gabbard)作证说，情报界得出结论，伊朗人没有“制造”核弹，最高领导人也没有授权制造核弹。
当特朗普本周被问及加巴德的证词时，他驳斥了这种说法，称:“我不在乎她说了什么，我认为他们非常接近于拥有一份证词。”加巴德随后坚称，她和特朗普意见一致——伊朗“接近”获得核武器——她的证词被曲解了。
不过，加巴德作证说，情报界确实评估到，伊朗的浓缩铀储备处于最高水平，对于一个没有核武器的国家来说是前所未有的。
特朗普说，两周内决定进攻
随着以色列和伊朗继续进行贸易罢工，所有人都在关注特朗普下一步将做什么。以色列表示，在伊朗导弹击中贝尔谢巴的一家医院后，以色列将加强贸易罢工。
白宫周四表示，他将在未来两周内就是否对德黑兰采取军事行动做出选择。
“‘基于与伊朗谈判的可能性很大，在不久的将来可能会也可能不会，我将在未来两周内做出是否前往的决定。’这是总统今天对你们所有人的直接引用，”莱维特说。
由于中东局势紧张，特朗普提前离开七国集团峰会后，本周三次在情况室会见顾问。知情人士告诉ABC新闻，他批准了提交给他的攻击计划，但正在等待伊朗是否愿意谈判，尚未做出最终决定。
周五，他将参加另一个情况室会议，然后参加当晚在新泽西州贝德明斯特举行的私人筹款活动，周六下午返回白宫，当晚和周日晚上他将听取更多的情报简报。
莱维特说，特朗普的决定将部分基于他面临的“本能”来自各方面的不同压力包括他的共和党基础在孤立主义者和以色列鹰派之间的分裂。
“看，总统听到了全国所有的声音，他根据自己的直觉做出决定，”莱维特说。"他一直说外交是他的第一选择."
美国广播公司新闻部首席白宫记者玛丽·布鲁斯问莱维特，是什么让特朗普相信有实质性的谈判机会，但莱维特拒绝透露他的想法。
“我不打算进入推理和基本原理，”她说。“总统相信这一点，但这是他的立场，他将在未来两周内做出决定。”
白宫说，美国和伊朗之间的通信仍在继续，但不清楚美国中东特使史蒂夫·维特科夫(Steve Witkoff)是否会参加欧洲领导人和伊朗人在日内瓦举行的会谈。
与此同时，以色列周四发表强烈声明，称伊朗最高领袖不能继续“存在”，这引发了以色列现在是否希望伊朗政权更迭的问题。莱维特周四被问及美国是否会介入这种情况。
莱维特说:“总统目前的首要任务是确保伊朗不能获得核武器，并为中东地区提供和平与稳定。”。
White House says Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in 'a couple of weeks'
The White House on Thursday stated definitively that Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in "a couple of weeks" once given the go-ahead from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
"Let's be very clear, Iran has all that it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at her briefing. "All they need is a decision from the supreme leader to do that."
"And it would take a couple of weeks to complete the production of that weapon, which would, of course, pose an existential threat not just toIsraelbut to theUnited Statesand to the entire world," she continued.
How close Iran is to developing a usable nuclear weapon has been at the center of the Israel-Iran conflict, withcontinuing debate over the potential "breakout timeline"once the nation has stockpiled enough weapons-grade enriched uranium.
The last time the U.S. gave an official, public breakout timeline was in July 2024 when then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it would take Iran one to two weeks to enrich enough uranium of 90% purity to get the fissile material needed for a nuclear weapon.
"Once you're at 60 [percent enrichment], you're 90% of the way there. You are, in essence, a threshold nuclear weapons state, which is what Iran basically has become," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview last month.
But if Iran were to produce enough weapons-grade uranium, most experts estimate it would take Iran between several months to two years to actually make a deliverable nuclear warhead.
In March, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified that the intelligence community concluded the Iranians were not "building" a nuclear bomb and that the supreme leader had not yet authorized one to be built.
Trump, when asked about Gabbard's testimony this week, dismissed it, saying: "I don’t care what she said, I think they were very close to having one." Gabbard then insisted she and Trump were on the same page -- that Iran was "close" to obtaining a weapon -- and that her testimony was misconstrued.
The intelligence community, though, did assess that Iran's enriched uranium stockpile was at its highest level and was unprecedented for a state without nuclear weapons, Gabbard testified.
Decision on attacking within two weeks, Trump says
All eyes are on what Trump will do next as Israel and Iran continue to trade strikes, which Israel said it will intensify after an Iranian missile hit a hospital in Beersheba.
The White House said on Thursday he would make a choice on whether to take military action against Tehran within the next two weeks.
"'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.' That's a quote directly from the president for all of you today," Leavitt said.
Trump's met with advisers in the Situation Room three times this week after departing the G7 summit early due to tensions in the Middle East. He approved attack plans presented to him but was waiting to see if Iran would be willing to negotiate and hasn't made a final decision, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
He's set for another Situation Room meeting on Friday before attending a private fundraiser that night in Bedminster, New Jersey, before returning to the White House Saturday afternoon where he will get more intelligence briefings that evening and Sunday evening.
Leavitt said that Trump's decision would be partly based on his "instincts" as he facesdifferent pressures from all sides, including a split in his Republican base between isolationists and Israel hawks.
"Look, the president hears all voices across the country, and he makes decisions based on his instincts," Leavitt said. "And he has always said diplomacy is his first option."
ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce asked Leavitt what made Trump believe there's a substantial chance for negotiation, but Leavitt declined to lay out his thinking.
"I'm not going to get into the reasoning and the rationale," she said. "The president believes that, but that's his position and he will make a decision within the next two weeks."
The White House said correspondence has continued between the United States and the Iranians, though it wasn't tracking whether U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff would attend talks in Geneva between European leaders and the Iranians.
Meanwhile, Israel on Thursday made strong statements saying Iran's supreme leader cannot continue to "exist" -- prompting questions of whether Israel now wants regime change in Iran. Leavitt was asked on Thursday whether the U.S. would get involved in such a scenario.
"The president's top priority right now is ensuring that Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon and providing peace and stability in the Middle East," Leavitt said.
