What we’re covering
• Impacts on Iran’s nuclear sites: CIA Director John Ratcliffe on Wednesday said the agency had obtained “a body of credible evidence” that Iran’s nuclear program was severely damaged by the recent US strikes. Separately, an Iranian official said the nuclear installations were “badly damaged” by Israel and the US.
• Coming up: US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will hold a news conference at 8 a.m. ET when he’s expected to discuss the US strikes. Separately, the US administration is limiting how much classified information it shares with Congress in an apparent attempt to clamp down on leaks.
• Possible meeting: Iran’s foreign ministry declined to confirm whether Iranian and US delegations will meet next week, as was suggested by US President Donald Trump at a NATO news conference.
• Trump defends Netanyahu: In a social media post, the US president also defended Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against an ongoing corruption trial in Israel, calling it a “witch hunt” and saying the US will save him.
Iran declines to confirm meeting planned with US on nuclear program
Iran’s foreign ministry has declined to confirm whether Iranian and US delegations will meet next week, as was suggested by US President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
Baghaei claimed that there had been many contradictions from US officials.
“While they were discussing diplomacy, just two days before our meeting in Muscat, they gave Israel the green light to attack Iran. So is there any trust left?” he said.
On Wednesday, Trump told reporters in The Hague that the US will meet with Iran next week about a potential nuclear agreement, though he said repeatedly that he doesn’t believe such a deal “is that necessary.”
“We’re going to talk to them next week, with Iran. We may sign an agreement, I don’t know. To me, I don’t think it’s that necessary. I mean, they had a war, they fought, now they’re going back to their world. I don’t care if I have an agreement or not,” Trump said during a press conference at the end of the NATO summit.
“The only thing we’d be asking for is what we were asking for before,” Trump said, adding again that he does not believe such an agreement is necessary due to his insistence that the US successfully destroyed Iran’s nuclear capabilities, despite early intelligence assessments suggesting otherwise.
Trump asserted that Iran’s nuclear program was destroyed.
