https://arab.news/wfhu4
- US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff has said there has been direct and indirect communication between the countries
- Iran insists it will not give up its nuclear program
THE HAGUE, Netherlands: US President Donald Trump asserted on Wednesday that US and Iranian officials will talk next week, giving rise to cautious hope for longer-term peace even as Tehran insisted it will not give up its nuclear program.
Trump, who helped negotiate the ceasefire that took hold Tuesday on the 12th day of the war, told reporters at a NATO summit that he wasn鈥檛 particularly interested in restarting negotiations with Iran, insisting that US strikes had destroyed its nuclear program. Earlier in the day, an Iranian official questioned whether the United States could be trusted after its weekend attack.
鈥淲e may sign an agreement, I don鈥檛 know,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淭he way I look at it, they fought, the war is done.鈥�
Iran has not acknowledged any talks taking place next week, though US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff has said there has been direct and indirect communication between the countries. A sixth round of negotiations between the US and Iran had been scheduled for earlier this month in Oman but was canceled when Israel attacked Iran.
Earlier, Trump said the ceasefire was going 鈥渧ery well,鈥� and added that Iran was 鈥渘ot going to have a bomb and they鈥檙e not going to enrich.鈥�
Iran has insisted, however, that it will not give up its nuclear program. In a vote underscoring the tough path ahead, its parliament agreed to fast-track a proposal that would effectively stop the country鈥檚 cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN watchdog that has monitored the program for years.
Ahead of the vote, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf criticized the IAEA for having 鈥渞efused to even pretend to condemn the attack on Iran鈥檚 nuclear facilities鈥� that the US carried out on Sunday.
鈥淔or this reason, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran will suspend cooperation with the IAEA until security of nuclear facilities is ensured, and Iran鈥檚 peaceful nuclear program will move forward at a faster pace,鈥� Qalibaf told lawmakers.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said he had written to Iran to discuss resuming inspections of their nuclear facilities. Among other things, Iran claims to have moved its highly enriched uranium ahead of the US strikes, and Grossi said his inspectors need to re-assess the country鈥檚 stockpiles.
鈥淲e need to return,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e need to engage.鈥�
French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country was part of the 2015 deal with Iran that restricted its nuclear program but began unraveling after Trump pulled the US out in his first term, said he hoped Tehran would come back to the table.
Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program was peaceful, and US intelligence agencies have assessed that Tehran is not actively pursuing a bomb. However, Israeli leaders have argued that Iran could quickly assemble a nuclear weapon.
Israel is widely believed to be the only Middle Eastern country with nuclear weapons, which it has never acknowledged.
The Israel Atomic Energy Commission said its assessment was that the US and Israeli strikes have 鈥渟et back Iran鈥檚 ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years.鈥� It did not give evidence to back up its claim.
The US strikes hit three Iranian nuclear sites, which Trump said 鈥渃ompletely and fully obliterated鈥� the country鈥檚 nuclear program. When asked about a US intelligence report that found Iran鈥檚 nuclear program has been set back only a few months, Trump scoffed and said it would at least take 鈥測ears鈥� to rebuild.
Iran鈥檚 Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, confirmed that the strikes by US B-2 bombers using bunker-buster bombs had caused significant damage.
鈥淥ur nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that鈥檚 for sure,鈥� he told Al Jazeera on Wednesday, while refusing to go into detail.
He seemed to suggest Iran might not shut out IAEA inspectors for good, noting that the bill before parliament only talks of suspending work with the agency, not ending it. He also insisted Iran has the right to pursue a nuclear energy program.
鈥淚ran is determined to preserve that right under any circumstances,鈥� he said.
Witkoff said on Fox News late on Tuesday that Israel and the US had achieved their objective of 鈥渢he total destruction of the enrichment capacity鈥� in Iran, and Iran鈥檚 prerequisite for talks 鈥� that Israel end its campaign 鈥� had been fulfilled.
鈥淭he proof is in the pudding,鈥� he said. 鈥淣o one鈥檚 shooting at each other. It鈥檚 over.鈥�