Trump says US, Iranian officials to hold talks after bombing of nuclear sites
President Trump said he didn't need a peace agreement with Iran because their nuclear program had been destroyed but that he asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to draft one.
- Trump said he would meet next week with Iranian officials to discuss relations after bombing that country's nuclear facilities.
President Donald Trump said U.S. officials would meet next week with Iranian officials, after claiming to have “obliterated” that country’s nuclear weapons program.
Asked at a June 25 NATO meeting in The Hague if he sought a peace agreement with Iran, Trump told reporters he didn’t need one because their nuclear facilities were destroyed and enriched uranium buried.
"We're going to talk with them next week − with Iran," Trump said. "We may sign an agreement."
“I don’t care if we have an agreement or not,” Trump added, about the need for Iran to agree to halt its nuclear weapons program. “It’s blown up to kingdom come.”
A Defense Intelligence Agency assessment said Iran’s nuclear program may have been set back only a few months by the U.S. military bombing on June 21. The whereabouts of 400 kilograms of enriched uranium are unknown.
But Trump said Israel’s atomic commission found the Iranian nuclear facility at Fordow was destroyed and the enrichment facility rendered inoperable. Iranian officials acknowledged severe damage.
Trump said the uranium was stored 30 stories underground and is now buried in granite, concrete and steel.
“We think we hit them so hard and so fast they didn’t get to move,” Trump said. “It’s very, very heavy and very hard to move.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iranian leaders ended hostilities with Israel because their nuclear facilities were set back further than they thought possible.
"If you want to make an assessment of what happened at Fordo, you better get a big shovel and go really deep because Iran's nuclear program is obliterated," Hegseth said.
Trump said Iran and Israel have exhausted each other and wouldn’t fight any more.
"I dealt with both and they're both tired, exhausted,” Trump said. “Can it start again? I guess someday, it can. It could maybe start soon."
Trump said he asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to draft a potential peace agreement with Iran. Rubio said Trump had proven willing to meet with anyone around the world to talk about peace, but any agreement would depend on Iranian willingness to engage with the U.S. directly rather than through other intermediaries.
Trump insisted that Iran’s nuclear program is over, whether they sign an agreement or not.
“They fought. The war is done. I could get a statement that they’re not going to go nuclear. We’re probably going to ask for that,” Trump said. “But they’re not going to be doing it. They’re not going to be doing it anyway. They’ve had it.”