With war over, Donald Trump says US-Iran talks to begin next week

1. With war over, Donald Trump says US-Iran talks to begin next week

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that US and Iranian officials are expected to engage in talks next week, marking a potential resumption of dialogue that had been disrupted by the recent 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran, which began on June 13. 

President Donald Trump points as he speaks during a media conference at the end of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP)

The announcement came as a ceasefire between Iran and Israel appeared to be holding after a violation from both sides hours after Trump announced it. Two and a half hours later, both sides exchanged strikes, during which Iranian attacks led to the deaths of at least four people in Israel's Beersheba.

Speaking at a press conference during the NATO summit in the Netherlands, Trump said, “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.”

Despite the prospect of talks, Trump indicated he had little enthusiasm for renewing negotiations, asserting that US airstrikes had significantly crippled Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. “The way I look at it, they fought, the war is done,” he remarked.

Iran, however, has not confirmed the possibility of upcoming talks. Meanwhile, US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff has stated that both direct and indirect communications have been ongoing between Washington and Tehran.

The fragile ceasefire has sparked cautious optimism for a more lasting peace, although Iran continues to assert that it will not abandon its nuclear ambitions.

Trump, who played a role in brokering the ceasefire that began on Tuesday, the 12th day of the war, told reporters at the NATO summit that things were going “very well," and stated that Iran was "not going to have a bomb and they’re not going to enrich."

He also repeated his claim that US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities at Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow had “obliterated” them, pushing back once again against a US intelligence assessment suggesting the attacks only delayed Iran’s nuclear program by a few months. Trump said that the bombings essentially brought the conflict to an end.

“I dealt with both and they’re both tired, exhausted. They fought very, very hard and very viciously, very violently, and they were both satisfied to go home and get out. And can it start again? I guess someday it can. It could maybe start soon,” he said.

In the months leading up to the conflict, the US and Iran had participated in five rounds of talks aimed at reaching a diplomatic resolution regarding Tehran’s nuclear program—essentially a new version of the 2015 nuclear deal that Trump withdrew from during his first term. A sixth round of talks had been planned before Israel launched its attack on June 13.