Trump’s ‘Two Weeks’ Pause on Iran Strikes Comes With High Stakes

Damage to a building hit by a ballistic missile launched from Iran in Bat Yam, Israel, on Sunday, June 15, 2025. Israel and Iran continued intense bombardments on one another’s territories for the third day, with no sign of a reprieve and growing concerns over a wider conflict in one of the world’s key oil-producing regions.Photographer: Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg

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June 21, 2025 at 10:05 PM UTC

President Donald Trump often suggests that something will happen in “two weeks” when he’s looking to buy himself some time. But his latest two-weeks declaration — on possible US military strikes in Iran — comes with unusually high stakes.

The pause, after days of bellicose rhetoric and social posts about evacuating Tehran, rattled markets in the region, triggered new threats from the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, led Iranian officials to call the US Israel’s “partner in crime” and left Israel in a holding pattern.