Level 1 - Absolute Beginner

The United States and Iran are in a long war. Now the American president says it is decision time.

President Trump says he can make a deal with Iran. Or he can attack more. He said he must choose soon.

Many leaders are trying to help. People from Qatar went to Tehran. Leaders from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan also went. Iran says the door to talks is still open.

The price of oil went down for two days. Traders hope for peace.

decision

A choice you make after you think.

deal

An agreement between two sides.

war

A fight between countries.

attack

To start a fight with weapons.

leader

A person who is in charge of a country or group.

oil

A liquid fuel. Cars and ships use it.

price

How much money something costs.

peace

A time with no fighting.

Level 2 - Elementary

President Donald Trump says he will soon decide whether to make a deal with Iran or to finish the job with force. He called it decision time in a television interview on Sunday.

He also named one possible target. It is a mountain site called Pickaxe Mountain, which is buried deep underground and is linked to the Iranian nuclear program.

At the same time, other countries are working hard to keep the peace. Mediators from Qatar visited Tehran on Sunday. Officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan were due to meet Iranian leaders on Monday.

A spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry said the window for diplomacy is not closed. He said messages are passing through go-betweens. Iran also says it is ready to answer any American attack.

Markets noticed. The price of crude oil fell for a second day on Tuesday because traders think talks may continue.

mediator

A person or country that helps two sides talk.

diplomacy

Talking and writing between countries to solve problems.

nuclear

Connected to the power inside atoms. It can make energy or bombs.

spokesman

A person who speaks for a group.

target

A place or thing someone plans to attack.

underground

Below the surface of the earth.

crude oil

Oil that has not been cleaned yet.

go-between

A person who carries messages between two sides.

Level 3 - Intermediate

President Donald Trump said over the weekend that he is close to choosing between making a deal with Iran and taking military action to, in his words, finish it off. Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, he said it was getting to be decision time, and he pointed to Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried site connected to Iran's nuclear program, as a possible target.

The warning came while a crowd of intermediaries moved through the region. Qatari mediators, who have been central to efforts to end the war, visited Tehran on Sunday, according to Reuters. Officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan were scheduled to meet Iranian leaders there on Monday, a sign that regional powers fear what a renewed round of strikes would do to their own economies and security.

Tehran has sent mixed signals. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the window of diplomacy had not been shut and that messages were still travelling to Washington through intermediaries. Yet Iranian officials also say they are preparing a military response to any new American strike, and one senior security official earlier described the latest U.S. reply as insufficient.

Energy traders chose to read the diplomacy as the more important story. According to CNBC, crude oil prices fell for a second straight session on Tuesday, driven by a renewed push to ease tensions. The move shows how closely the market now follows every statement from Washington and Tehran.

intermediary

A person or country that passes messages between two sides.

renewed

Started again after a pause.

insufficient

Not enough.

preparing

Getting ready for something.

session

A period of time when a market is open for trading.

regional

Connected with a particular area of the world.

signal

A sign that shows what someone may think or do.

scheduled

Planned for a certain time.

Level 4 - Advanced

Washington's Iran policy has reached what its principal author himself calls decision time. In a Fox News interview on Sunday, President Donald Trump said he was weighing a negotiated settlement against action that would, in his phrase, finish the job, and he floated Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply fortified site associated with Iran's nuclear program, as a conceivable objective. The remark transforms a long period of attritional brinkmanship into something resembling a countdown, though the president has attached no date to it.

The diplomatic traffic around that ultimatum is unusually dense. Qatar, the most consistent channel between the adversaries, sent mediators to Tehran on Sunday, and delegations from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan were due to follow on Monday. The presence of Gulf and regional heavyweights suggests they regard a resumption of strikes less as a distant spectacle than as a direct threat to shipping lanes, energy exports and domestic stability.

Tehran's posture is deliberately two-sided. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei insisted that the window of diplomacy remained open and that communications were being relayed through third parties, while other officials rehearse a vow of reprisal against any American attack and have dismissed the latest U.S. reply as insufficient. Such dual messaging is a familiar negotiating technique: it signals willingness to deal while raising the perceived cost of coercion.

Commodity markets, which tend to price probabilities rather than rhetoric, have leaned toward de-escalation for now. CNBC reported that crude oil fell for a second consecutive session on Tuesday on the strength of the renewed diplomatic push. That calm is conditional; the same market would reprice within minutes if the decision Mr. Trump describes were to tilt toward force.

attritional

Gradually wearing an opponent down over time.

brinkmanship

The practice of pushing a dangerous situation to the edge of conflict to win concessions.

ultimatum

A final demand that threatens consequences if it is refused.

adversary

An opponent or enemy.

posture

The position or attitude a government shows publicly.

coercion

Forcing someone to act by threats or pressure.

de-escalation

A reduction in the intensity of a conflict.

reprisal

An act of retaliation.