Washington DC, July 8
US President Donald Trump expressed cautious optimism about avoiding further military action against Iran, noting that the Islamic Republic also doesn't want such action against it.
The US President further stated that Iran wants to meet and work "something out" between the two nations to cease any future military actions.
"I hope we're not going to have to do that. I can't imagine wanting to do that. I can't imagine them wanting to do that. They (Iran) want to meet ... They want to work something out. They are very different now than they were two weeks ago," Trump said during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday (local time).
His remarks come against the backdrop of recent tensions following recent US-Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites and military installations.
When asked if there would be any talks scheduled with Iran, Trump nodded, noting that the US had plans to hold dialogue with Tehran.
"We're going to have a meeting ... We'll see what happens. We have scheduled Iran talks. They want to talk. They took a big drubbing, I think, when we hit the three sites," Trump added.
Earlier, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had expressed confidence that Tehran could settle its disputes with the US through dialogue, while acknowledging that building trust would be difficult due to past US and Israeli attacks on Iran, as reported by Al Jazeera.
The conflict began on June 13 when Israel launched "Operation Rising Lion", conducting widespread airstrikes on Iranian soil targeting nuclear sites at Natanz and Fordow, missile production centres, and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) command bases. Several top IRGC commanders and nuclear scientists were reportedly assassinated during the operation.
This was followed by US strikes on June 21-22 under "Operation Midnight Hammer", which also targeted Iranian nuclear infrastructure.
Iran then retaliated with missile attacks against Israel and an assault on a US military airbase in Qatar. Tehran strongly condemned both operations, calling them a blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter.
Meanwhile, Israeli PM Netanyahu said that he had sent a letter to the Nobel Prize Committee nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
He personally handed a copy of the nomination letter to Trump during their meeting at ther White House.
- ANI
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