Trump doubles down amid doubts overstrikes, says ‘talks with Iran next week’

The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to hold on Wednesday while US President Donald Trump asserted that US and Iranian officials will talk next week, giving rise to cautious hope for longer-term peace.

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’t particularly interested in restarting negotiations with Iran. Earlier in the day, an Iranian official questioned whether the United States could be trusted after its weekend attack.

“We may sign an agreement, I don’t know,” Trump said. “The way I look at it, they fought, the war is done.”

Trump said his decision to join Israel’s attacks by targeting Iranian nuclear sites ended the war, calling it “a victory for everybody”.

“It was very severe. It was obliteration,” he said, shrugging off an initial assessment by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency that Iran’s path to building a nuclear weapon may have been set back only by months.

REFERENCE: HINDUSTAN TIMES