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Israel-Iran conflict: US will hold nuclear talks with Iran next week; Trump says, 'We blew it up to kingdom come'

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US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that American and Iranian officials will hold talks next week about Tehran's nuclear program. The announcement comes days after a 12-day war between Israel and Iran ended with a ceasefire that appears, for now, to be holding.

"I’ll tell you what, we’re going to talk with them next week, with Iran. We may sign an agreement, I don’t know," Trump said during a press conference at the Nato summit in the Netherlands.

He said he was not very interested in restarting talks, saying that the US had already destroyed Iran’s nuclear program through airstrikes.

"The way I look at it, they fought, the war is done," Trump said.

He also said that the US would ask for the same commitments from Iran that it had demanded before the recent conflict.

"The only thing would be asking for is what we were asking for before," Trump said. He repeated his claim that the nuclear threat from Iran had been eliminated.

"We want no nuclear, but we destroyed the nuclear. In other words, it’s destroyed. I said ‘Iran will not have nuclear.’ Well, we blew it up. It’s blown up to kingdom come, and so I don’t feel very strongly about it. If we got a document, it wouldn’t be bad. We’re going to meet with them," Trump said.



Iran has not confirmed that any talks will take place. However, US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff said there has been both direct and indirect communication with Iranian officials, news agency Associated Press reported.

The ceasefire, which began on Tuesday, has led to discussions about possible peace efforts. But Iran has continued to say it will not abandon its nuclear program.

Trump earlier said the ceasefire was going “very well.” He also said Iran would not be allowed to have nuclear weapons or enrich uranium.

Meanwhile, Iran’s parliament has moved to fast-track a proposal to stop cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which monitors its nuclear sites.

Iran parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said the agency did not condemn the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

"For this reason, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran will suspend cooperation with the IAEA until security of nuclear facilities is ensured, and Iran’s peaceful nuclear program will move forward at a faster pace," Qalibaf told lawmakers as cited by AP.

IAEA director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said he had contacted Iran about restarting inspections. He also said Iran claims it moved its highly enriched uranium before the US strikes.

"We need to return," he said. "We need to engage."
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