The United States and Iran may resume direct talks next week, following a fragile ceasefire that ended a brief but intense conflict between Israel and Tehran. While the ceasefire appears to be holding, deep tensions remain over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that discussions with Iranian officials are expected to take place soon, though he expressed uncertainty about the outcome.
“We’re going to talk with them next week. We may sign an agreement, I don’t know,” Trump said during remarks at a NATO summit in the Netherlands.
Despite the announcement, Iran has not publicly confirmed any upcoming negotiations. However, U.S. officials, including Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, have indicated there has been both direct and indirect communication between the two countries.
Trump downplayed the need for renewed talks, claiming that recent U.S. military action had already neutralized Iran’s nuclear capabilities. “The way I look at it, they fought, the war is done,” he said.
While the ceasefire — brokered by the U.S. and now in effect since Tuesday — has brought a temporary halt to hostilities, Iran continues to assert that it will not abandon its nuclear program. Iranian lawmakers recently voted to accelerate a bill that would suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), citing a lack of international condemnation following the U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf criticized the IAEA’s silence over the attack, saying Iran would not resume collaboration until its nuclear sites are secured. “Iran’s peaceful nuclear program will move forward at a faster pace,” he told legislators.
In response, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi confirmed he had reached out to Iranian officials to resume inspections, noting that the agency must reassess the country’s uranium stockpiles — particularly after Iran claimed it relocated enriched material prior to the strikes.
“We need to return,” Grossi said. “We need to engage.”
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed hope that Iran would re-enter negotiations. France was a party to the 2015 nuclear agreement, which began to unravel after the U.S. unilaterally withdrew during Trump’s first term.
Iran maintains its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes, a position backed by U.S. intelligence agencies, which assess that Tehran is not currently pursuing a nuclear weapon. Still, Israeli officials continue to argue that Iran remains capable of rapidly assembling a bomb if it chooses to.
