Trump: Washington to negotiate with Iran after US “victory”

AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS

The ceasefire between Israel and Iran looks set to last after US President Donald Trump criticized both sides for violating the deal. Israel accused Iran of launching missiles, which Iran denied, and both sides agreed to honor the ceasefire if it was respected by both sides.

A US intelligence report showed that Trump’s strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities caused limited damage, slowing down its nuclear program by several months, contrary to Trump’s claim of complete destruction. Trump dismissed the report as untrue.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the campaign against Iran a historic victory but stressed that military action would continue if Iran resumed its nuclear program, underscoring Israel’s commitment to defeating Hamas and freeing hostages in Gaza.

Trump: Washington to negotiate with Iran after US ‘victory’

US President Donald Trump has welcomed a quick end to the Iran-Israel war and said Washington is likely to demand that Tehran commit to ending its nuclear ambitions during talks with Iranian officials next week.

Trump said his decision to support Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, using powerful bunker-busting bombs, had brought an end to the conflict, calling it a “victory for everyone”.

“It was a huge blow. Total annihilation,” he said, rejecting an initial assessment by the US Defense Intelligence Agency that Iran had slowed its nuclear weapons development by only a few months.

Speaking in The Hague, where he was attending a NATO summit, he said he did not see Iran continuing to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran has for decades denied Western accusations that it wants nuclear weapons.

“We’re going to meet with them next week, with Iran. We might sign some kind of agreement. I don’t know. It’s not really necessary for me,” Trump said.

Nervous Iranians and Israelis were trying to get back to normal after the most intense confrontation between the two sides.

The Israeli nuclear agency estimated that the attacks “set back Iran’s nuclear weapons development for many years.” The White House also shared this assessment, although Trump said he was not relying solely on Israeli intelligence.

He was confident that Tehran would choose the diplomatic path to reconciliation.

“I’ll tell you, the last thing they want right now is to enrich anything. They want to recover,” he said.

If Iran tries to restart its nuclear program, “we will not let them do that. First of all, militarily,” he added, noting that he believed he would eventually establish some kind of relationship with Iran to resolve the problem.

The head of the UN nuclear energy agency, Rafael Grossi, has rejected the "hourglass" approach to assessing the damage to Iran's nuclear program, looking only at the months needed for rebuilding, as he believes a long-term strategy is needed.

"The technological know-how and the industrial capacity are there, no one can dispute that. We have to work with them," Grossi said. His priority is the return of international inspectors to Iran's nuclear facilities, which is the only way to accurately determine their condition.

Trump: I do not believe that Iran and Israel will turn on each other again

American President Donald Trump, after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the NATO summit, began his address to the public by thanking the Netherlands for hosting the summit and praising the American military.

He again highlighted the US attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities - the success of which has been called into question - calling them "destruction".

"This incredible show of American strength paved the way for peace through a historic ceasefire agreement late Monday," he said.

He continued to highlight his role in brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

“We call it the Twelve Day War. I talked to a few people and it just sounded like the right name to me. It was a 12-day war,” he added.

“And we believe it’s over now. I don’t think they’re going to go at each other again. I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

He added that the United States had “reaffirmed the credibility of American deterrence,” which he said was “unique.”

US President Donald Trump then responded to a question from CNN, which he calls “fake news.”

Asked whether he was relying on Israeli intelligence to assess the impact of US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, Trump replied bluntly: “No.”

"We've gathered additional intelligence and spoken to people who saw the site. The site has been destroyed, and we believe that everything nuclear that was there is now under the rubble. They haven't been able to bring anything out," he added.

US Defense Secretary: Iran's nuclear program has been destroyed

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegsett said in a speech that Iran's nuclear program has been "destroyed" after the US strikes. Hegsett criticized a US intelligence report suggesting that the program may not have been destroyed after all, contrary to claims by President Donald Trump and his associates.

He said the report was marked “low-classified” because “all the evidence is buried under a mountain, devastated and destroyed.”

“So if you want to assess what happened at Fordow, you better take a big shovel and dig really deep, because the Iranian nuclear program was destroyed, and someone, somewhere, is trying to release something and say, ‘Oh, that’s low-classified,’” Hegseth said.

“That’s why they immediately sat down at the negotiating table, because their nuclear capabilities have been reduced beyond what they ever thought possible, thanks to the courage of the commander-in-chief who led our forces, despite what the fake news wants to portray,” he added.

Iranian parliament passes law to suspend cooperation The Iranian parliament passed a law today to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), state media Nournews reported.

The decision comes after airstrikes with Israel, in which Iran's longtime adversary has said it wants to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.

The law, which still needs to be approved by the Guardian Council, an unelected body, stipulates that any future inspections by the IAEA must be approved by the Supreme National Security Council.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf told state media that Iran would accelerate its civilian nuclear program.

Tehran denies it is trying to develop nuclear weapons and says an IAEA resolution adopted this month - finding Iran guilty of violating non-proliferation obligations - paved the way for Israeli strikes.

Qalibaf said the IAEA did not even try to condemn the attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, and had "sold out its international credibility".

He added: “Therefore, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran will suspend cooperation with the Agency until the security of our nuclear facilities is guaranteed, and the country’s peaceful nuclear program continues at an accelerated pace.”

This week, the parliament’s National Security Committee approved the basic guidelines of the law. A spokesman for the committee said the law would suspend the installation of surveillance cameras, inspections and reporting to the IAEA.

The IAEA has not yet commented on the passage of the law in the Iranian parliament.