Trump Says US Will Hold Talks With Iran ‘Next Week’ As Fragile Ceasefire With Israel Holds

<p>A fragile truce between Israel and Iran continued to hold on Wednesday, while diplomatic developments hinted at possible future engagement between Washington and Tehran, despite deepening tensions over Iran&rsquo;s nuclear programme. U.S. President Donald Trump said the US will hold talks with Iran ‘next week’ with a possible agreement on the table about Tehran’s nuclear programme.</p>
<p>In a significant move, Iran&rsquo;s parliament voted to expedite a bill that would limit its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog that has overseen Tehran&rsquo;s nuclear activities for years. The vote comes amid rising discontent in Iran over a recent U.S. airstrike targeting its nuclear facilities, news agency AP reported.</p>
<p>Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf criticised the IAEA for not denouncing the attacks, saying, &ldquo;The IAEA has refused to even pretend to condemn the attack on Iran&rsquo;s nuclear facilities.&rdquo; He announced that the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran would suspend collaboration with the agency until the safety of its nuclear sites is guaranteed. Qalibaf added, &ldquo;Iran&rsquo;s peaceful nuclear programme will move forward at a faster pace.&rdquo;</p>
<p>IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi confirmed he had contacted Iranian authorities to initiate discussions about resuming inspections. &ldquo;We need to return,&rdquo; he stated. &ldquo;We need to engage.&rdquo;</p>
<h3><strong>Trump Claims Victory, Iran Maintains Resistance</strong></h3>
<p>Trump, speaking at a NATO summit, suggested that the conflict had reached its conclusion. &ldquo;The way I look at it, they fought, the war is done,&rdquo; he told reporters, while indicating that he was not particularly enthusiastic about restarting negotiations.</p>
<p>Although Iran has not confirmed any upcoming talks, U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff said there had been direct and indirect communication between the two sides. A planned round of talks in Oman was scrapped earlier this month following an Israeli strike on Iranian targets.</p>
<p>Trump declared that Iran would neither enrich uranium nor develop a nuclear bomb. He also claimed that recent U.S. airstrikes had &ldquo;completely and fully obliterated&rdquo; Iran&rsquo;s nuclear programme. However, an intelligence assessment cited by U.S. media reportedly indicated the damage may only have delayed the programme by a few months &mdash; a claim Trump dismissed, asserting it would take &ldquo;years&rdquo; to rebuild.</p>
<h3><strong>Iran Acknowledges Damage, But Signals Openness</strong></h3>
<p>Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei confirmed that American strikes using B-2 bombers and bunker-busting munitions had caused &ldquo;significant damage&rdquo; to the country&rsquo;s nuclear facilities. Speaking to Al Jazeera, he declined to elaborate but said, &ldquo;Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that&rsquo;s for sure.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Baghaei also suggested Iran had not ruled out working with the IAEA altogether, noting that the parliamentary bill only seeks to suspend&mdash;not permanently end&mdash;cooperation. He reiterated Iran&rsquo;s right to a peaceful nuclear energy programme, stating, &ldquo;Iran is determined to preserve that right under any circumstances.&rdquo;</p>
<p>French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country was part of the 2015 nuclear deal, expressed hope that Iran would return to negotiations. Meanwhile, the IAEA&rsquo;s Grossi emphasised the need for transparency, saying, &ldquo;The technical knowledge is there, and the industrial capacity is there&hellip; that no one can deny, so we need to work together with them.&rdquo;</p>
<h3><strong>Questions Over Impact of U.S. Strikes</strong></h3>
<p>Israel&rsquo;s Atomic Energy Commission claimed that joint U.S.-Israeli strikes had set Iran&rsquo;s nuclear ambitions back by several years, though it provided no concrete evidence. Witkoff echoed this sentiment on Fox News, stating the strikes had resulted in &ldquo;the total destruction of the enrichment capacity&rdquo; in Iran. He added that Iran&rsquo;s condition for talks&mdash;an end to Israeli military action&mdash;had been met. &ldquo;The proof is in the pudding,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;No one&rsquo;s shooting at each other. It&rsquo;s over.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Though the ceasefire remains in place, with Trump declaring it was going &ldquo;very well,&rdquo; the path ahead remains uncertain. Iran continues to insist on its right to nuclear energy, while Western officials push for renewed international oversight and diplomacy.</p>