Palestine's Abbas says ready to work closely with Trump on comprehensive peace deal
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas applauded US President Donald Trump for his efforts to secure a truce between Israel and Iran, and offered to work with him on another agreement that will bring lasting peace and stability to Palestinians, according to the Wafa news agency.
In a letter, Abbas said he is ready to collaborate with the US and other Arab and international countries to negotiate a comprehensive peace deal that ends the Israeli occupation.
'We hope and trust in your ability to make a new history for our region that will restore to the region the peace lost for generations,' Wafa quoted the letter as saying.
"We are filled with hope and confidence in your ability to create a new history for our region, restoring the peace that has been lost for generations."
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The National
35 minutes ago
- The National
Trump announces new talks with Iran as hopes rise for Gaza truce
The US will re-enter talks with Iran next week after a ceasefire with Israel that also raises the prospects of peace in Gaza, President Donald Trump has said. Speaking at a Nato summit, Mr Trump said Iran is "not going to be building bombs for a long time" after US attacks, as mystery surrounded the fate of Iran's nuclear materials. He compared the US strikes to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended the Second World War. A truce continued to hold after Israel and Iran halted a 12-day air war, their worst ever direct conflict. If Israel "does not take any aggressive actions, Iran will not react either,' an Iranian government official told The National. Hamas meanwhile said Gaza ceasefire talks 'intensified in recent hours' with the participation of mediators from Egypt and Qatar. Mr Trump said "great progress" was being made to end the Israel-Hamas war, and said his special envoy Steve Witkoff had told him "Gaza is very close." He linked his optimism about imminent "very good news" for Gaza to the ceasefire agreed on Tuesday between Israel and Iran. "It helped a little, and sowed a lot of power," he said. "I think this helped." Mr Trump said the "war is done" after the US dropped "bunker-buster" bombs on three Iranian nuclear sites early on Sunday. Iran responded by launching missiles at an American air base in Qatar, in an attack widely condemned in the Arab world. "We're going to talk to them next week with Iran. We may sign an agreement, I don't know," said Mr Trump. "The way I look at it, they fought, the war is done. 'I don't want to use an example of Hiroshima. I don't want to use an example of Nagasaki, but that was essentially the same thing — that ended a war." The bombing raid ordered by Mr Trump hit the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites in Iran, which is suspected by the US and Israel of secretly developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies this, insisting it is enriching uranium for peaceful purposes. Tehran will re-enter nuclear talks only if the US offers clear aims and takes steps to rebuild trust, current and former Iranian officials said. Five rounds of meetings failed to produce a deal on curbing Iran's activities, before Israel attacked Iran almost a fortnight ago. "We need to see whether the opposing sides will enter in good faith or not,' an analyst in Tehran who is close to the Iranian government told The National. 'The opposing side must prove that it is reliable this time with confidence-building measures,' the analyst said. 'We will wait until there is good faith and a new initiative.' Iran was believed to have a stockpile of near-weapons grade uranium before the air war broke out. The whereabouts of its nuclear materials are now unclear, amid speculation it could have moved them before the US bombing. Mr Trump maintained on Wednesday that "there was obliteration" but conceded that early US intelligence findings were inconclusive. "It could've been very severe. That's what the intelligence suggests," he said. Iran said only that its nuclear sites were "badly damaged" in the bombing raids. Israeli strikes also killed nuclear scientists and several senior military commanders in Iran, as well as hitting symbols of government power in Tehran. Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Iran informed him it had taken "precautionary measures" regarding its uranium stockpile. He said: 'There is rubble, there could be unexploded ordnance, there are not normal inspections.' A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's office said the strike on Fordow "destroyed the site's critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility inoperable". Israel said it assessed that the strikes had set back Iran's nuclear programme 'by many years'. Mr Netanyahu is now coming under pressure from some quarters in Israeli politics to follow the Iran truce with a ceasefire deal in Gaza. Sources reported that top Hamas officials, including Khalil Al Hayah, Zaher Jabareen, and Nazar Awadallah, have been holding talks with Egyptian officials since they arrived in Cairo on Monday. A lone mid-level Israeli negotiator was also in Cairo, while a senior team from Israel's Mossad spy agency was expected later in the week, but only if the chances of making progress in the talks improve, according to the sources. They told The National that the proposals on the table to pause the war and secure the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza were not different from those discussed in previous rounds, and which mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the US could not get Hamas and Israel to agree to. Life was returning to normal after the war. Israel has mostly lifted restrictions on schools and public gatherings put in place by a home front command. Iranian authorities announced the gradual easing of internet restrictions. "The communication network is gradually returning to its previous state," said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' cyber security command in a statement carried by state media. Hezbollah meanwhile lauded what it described as Iran's 'divine victory' over Israel in the 12-day war. The Lebanese armed group and political party said Iran's attacks 'shattered the aura of [Israel's] defence systems' and marked a 'new historical stage' in the region. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi spoke by phone with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, condemning Iran's attack on Qatar and reaffirming Cairo's support for "the sovereignty of Arab and Islamic states". According to a statement from Egypt's presidency, Mr El Sisi welcomed the ceasefire agreement between Iran and Israel, emphasising the need to "stabilise and uphold the agreement" to prevent escalation in the region.
Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
Trump doesn't think Iran deal needed after facilities ‘blown up to kingdom come'
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that his administration plans to resume talks with Iran next week, but he doesn't care if a nuclear agreement is signed because Iran's facilities have been 'blown up to kingdom come'. 'We are going to talk to them next week, with Iran. We may sign an agreement. I don't know…I don't care if I have an agreement or not,' he said. 'The only thing we would be asking for is what we were asking for before…we want no nuclear, but we destroyed the nuclear… it's blown up to kingdom come. I don't care very strongly about it. If we got a document, it wouldn't be bad.' Trump's comments during a Nato summit in the Netherlands come amid conflicting reports about the damage US strikes did to Iran's Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear facilities over the weekend. On Wednesday, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the country's nuclear facilities had been 'badly damaged' by the American strikes. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters But a day earlier, several US media outlets reported unnamed sources briefed on a battle damage assessment by the Defence Intelligence Agency that claimed the US strikes had only set Iran's programme back a few months. CNN cited one source as saying that some of Iran's centrifuges were 'intact'. Trump confirmed the leak was legitimate, but accused American media outlets of misrepresenting the assessment. 'The document said 'it could be limited or it could be very severe [damage]'… and you didn't choose to put that,' he said, addressing a CNN reporter. CNN was the first to report the leak. Trump said the US received more intelligence about the damage after the report, including by speaking with sources on the ground in Iran with access to Iran's nuclear programme. What the Israel-Iran-US conflict taught Pakistan Read More » 'We have also spoken to people who have seen the site. The site is obliterated. Everything nuclear is down there. They didn't take it out,' he said. Trump was likely referring to reports that Iran was able to move a stockpile of uranium from sites before the US struck them. An Arab official briefed on the matter previously told Middle East Eye that Iran had received advance warning of the US strikes. Amwaj Media first reported that Tehran was notified before the US attacked. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that just five days into the war, its inspectors lost track of Iran's 409 kilograms of highly enriched uranium. That amount, which could be easily transported in a container by truck, is enough for 10 nuclear warheads if Iran were to pursue weaponisation. Before Israel's attack, Iran and the US were in talks to curb the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday that his country was willing to return to negotiations over its nuclear programme, according to state media. Since launching strikes on Iran over the weekend, Trump has moved to de-escalate tensions. He thanked Iran on Monday for providing advance notice about its retaliatory strike on the US's al-Udeid military base in Qatar. Trump announced a ceasefire to the war a few hours after the attack. On Tuesday, he lashed out at both Israel and Iran when it appeared to wobble, saying the two foes "have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the fuck they're doing'. Speaking at the Nato summit, Trump said both Iran and Israel were 'tired [and] exhausted' and 'satisfied to go home and get out'. He also said he would have no problem with Iran selling its oil to China. The US slapped sanctions on Iran's oil sales to China during the nuclear talks. 'They just had a war. They fought it bravely. They are in the oil business…they are going to need money to put that country back into shape….If they are going to sell oil, they are going to sell oil,' Trump said.
Khaleej Times
3 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Trump signals US may need to ease Iran oil sanctions to help rebuild country
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the US has not given up its maximum pressure on Iran - including restrictions on sales of Iranian oil - but signaled a potential easing in enforcement to help the country rebuild. "They're going to need money to put that country back into shape. We want to see that happen," Trump said at a news conference at the NATO Summit when asked if he was easing oil sanctions on Iran. Trump said a day earlier that China can continue to purchase Iranian oil after Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, but the White House later clarified that his comments did not indicate a relaxation of US sanctions. Trump imposed waves of Iran-related sanctions on several of China's independent "teapot" refineries and port terminal operators for purchases of Iranian oil.
