Trump says US, Iran will hold talks next week
Amid a ceasefire between Israel and Iran that appeared to be holding, United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that Washington and Tehran will hold talks next week, the Associated Press reported.
Tel Aviv and Tehran on Tuesday agreed to a ceasefire after 12 days of hostilities that saw Israel attack Iran and face Iranian retaliation. On the same day, Iran said that it was ready to return to negotiations about its nuclear programme with the US.
The US had signed a nuclear deal with Iran in 2015 to limit Tehran's nuclear programme in return for the lifting of economic sanctions. Trump had scrapped the deal during his first term in 2018.
The talks that started in April were aimed at reaching a fresh deal.
On Wednesday, Trump told reporters at a summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that he was not interested in restarting negotiations with Iran, AP reported. However, he said that he would likely seek a commitment from Iran to end its nuclear weapons ambitions, according to Reuters.
'We may sign an agreement. I don't know,' the US president said. 'The way I look at it, they fought. The war is done.'
Iran has not yet acknowledged any talks taking place next week. The country has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.
Trump also insisted that the US had destroyed Tehran's nuclear programme in the strikes on Sunday when Washington had joined Israel's war against Iran. Trump had said at the time that the country carried out a 'very successful attack' on Iranian nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Esfahan.
He had claimed that Iran's nuclear facilities had been 'completely obliterated' in the attacks.
Washington is an ally of Israel and acts as a guarantor of the country's security.
However, a preliminary intelligence assessment from Washington said that the US airstrikes on the facilities in Iran did not destroy the nuclear programme and only set it back by a few months.
Refuting the assessment, Trump on Wednesday said that his decision to launch the strikes had devastated Iran's nuclear programme and called the outcome 'a victory for everybody', Reuters reported. 'It was very severe. It was obliteration,' he said.
On June 13, the Israeli military struck what it claimed were nuclear targets, and also other sites, in Iran with the aim of stalling Tehran's nuclear programme. Iran retaliated with missile attacks on Israel.
Israel has claimed that Iran was 'closer than ever' to obtaining a nuclear weapon.
After 12 days of hostilities, Israel and Iran on Tuesday agreed to a proposal by the US for a ceasefire. Trump had made the initial announcement about the truce hours after Iran struck the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which houses US troops.
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