Trump Says US, Iran Will Talk Next Week as Ceasefire Holds

The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to be holding on Wednesday while US President Donald Trump asserted that US and Iranian officials will talk next week, giving rise to cautious hope for longer-term peace even as Tehran insisted it will not give up its nuclear programme.

- Agencies

DUBAI/THE HAGUE:

"We may sign an agreement, I don't know," Trump said. "The way I look at it, they fought, the war is done."

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump likened Washington's strike on Iran's nuclear facilities to the US dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II. "Actually, if you look at Hiroshima, if you look at Nagasaki, you know that ended a war too," Trump said as he wrapped up NATO's summit in The Hague.

"This ended a war in a different way, but it was so devastating." Trump has ferociously defended his assertion that the US strikes using bunker-busting bombs "obliterated" Iran's underground Fordow nuclear facility.

US media has reported that a classified preliminary US intelligence report concluded that American strikes on Iran had set back Tehran's nuclear programme by just a few months—rather than destroying it. "Was it bad? It was really bad," Trump said. "It was obliterated."

NATO agrees massive spending hike

NATO countries agreed on Wednesday to massively ramp up their defense spending to satisfy US President Donald Trump, who hailed it as a "monumental win" for America—and reaffirmed his country's commitment to protect its European allies.