President Donald Trump revealed Wednesday that Iran has requested direct talks with his administration and is prepared to send a delegation to the White House. This comes as Israel continues its military campaign against Iranian nuclear and military sites, pushing the U.S. to help destroy the deeply buried Fordow Nuclear Enrichment Center. Israel, lacking the advanced bunker-buster munitions needed for such a strike, has appealed to Washington for assistance. Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter emphasized the necessity of eliminating Fordow. When asked whether hitting the facility was a prerequisite for talks with Iran, Trump downplayed the idea, stating, “It’s just something that people talk about having.” While praising U.S. military capabilities, he made clear no decision had been made.

Trump also took to Truth Social to deny reports suggesting he was actively seeking peace talks, calling them “highly fabricated, fake news.” He criticized Iran for not accepting a previous deal and warned of consequences for continued defiance, even as he acknowledged Tehran’s late offer to engage diplomatically. Meanwhile, attention has turned to a series of mysterious cargo flights by Chinese-operated planes that vanished from radar near Iran. Though operated by Cargolux, a Luxembourg-based company, the planes’ routes and behavior have raised alarms. Andrea Ghiselli, a scholar on China-Middle East relations, noted the potential link between these flights and China’s historic military cooperation with Iran, including the supply of missile components possibly tied to nuclear development. The situation adds a new layer of uncertainty to already fraught U.S.–Iran–Israel dynamics.