ALBAWABA- U.S. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that Washington will hold a meeting with Iranian officials next week.
Qatar intercepts Iranian missile strike on Al Udeid base, vows response to “blatant attack”However, he questioned the necessity of a new diplomatic agreement, pointing to the recent U.S. airstrikes that he claims severely crippled Iran’s nuclear program. “The American strike is what completely ended the war between Iran and Israel, just like Hiroshima and Nagasaki did,” Trump declared, referencing a controversial historical parallel.
Speaking at a post-NATO summit press briefing, Trump said both Israel and Iran are “exhausted and worn out” from the recent 12-day conflict but warned that hostilities could reignite. “Could the conflict start anew? I think one day it could. Perhaps it could start soon,” he said.
Trump also acknowledged Iran's resilience: "They fought with courage. Now, Iranians want money to rebuild, and China can buy oil from them.” His comments came amid renewed speculation about the stability of the ceasefire between Tehran and Tel Aviv.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, offering a more measured tone in an exclusive interview with Politico's Dasha Burns, asserted that Iran is “much further” from acquiring a nuclear weapon following the U.S. strikes.
While President Trump insisted that Iran’s nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan were “completely destroyed,” Rubio noted that assessments are ongoing and emphasized that "very significant damage" had been inflicted.
However, a preliminary intelligence report from the Defense Intelligence Agency, as reported by CNN, found that the strikes may have only delayed Iran’s nuclear ambitions by a few months. Divergent assessments among U.S. intelligence agencies are expected in the coming weeks as more data is analyzed.
Rubio criticized the media coverage of the situation, calling some reports “false” and “agenda-driven.” “The first version of the story is often wrong,” he said. “This one doesn’t reflect the full picture and shouldn’t be republished.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the recent military operations as a “tremendous victory over the axis of evil,” emphasizing that Israel is now focused on postwar reconstruction.
