DUBAI, June 26 (AP/AFP): Israel and Iran seemed to honour the fragile ceasefire between them for a second day Wednesday and U.S. President Donald Trump asserted that American and Iranian officials will talk next week, giving rise to cautious hope for longer-term peace.
Trump, who helped negotiate the ceasefire that took hold Tuesday on the 12th day of the war, told reporters at a NATO summit that he was not particularly interested in restarting negotiations with Iran, insisting that U.S. strikes had destroyed its nuclear program. Earlier in the day, an Iranian official questioned whether the United States could be trusted after its weekend attack.
"We may sign an agreement, I don't know," Trump said. "The way I look at it, they fought, the war is done."
Iran has not acknowledged any talks taking place next week, though U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff has said there has been direct and indirect communication between the countries. A sixth round of U.S.-Iran negotiations was scheduled for earlier this month in Oman but was canceled after Israel attacked Iran.
Earlier, Trump said the ceasefire was going "very well," and added that Iran was "not going to have a bomb, and they're not going to enrich."
Iran has insisted that it will not give up its nuclear program. In a vote underscoring the tough path ahead, its parliament agreed to fast-track a proposal that would effectively stop the country's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. watchdog that has monitored the program for years.
Meanwhile, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday threatened to carry out more strikes on US bases in the region if Iran came under another attack by the United States.
"The Islamic republic has access to important US bases in the region and can act against them whenever it deems it necessary," said Khamenei in a video message aired by state TV.
"It can happen again in the future; if an attack occurs, the cost to the enemy and the aggressor will certainly be high."
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday that arch-enemy Israel "almost collapsed" following the Islamic republic's retaliatory strikes during a 12-day war launched by Israel.
"The Zionist regime almost collapsed and was crushed under the strikes of the Islamic republic," Khamenei said in a statement carried by state media, two days after a ceasefire ended the war.
Israeli commandos operated
in Iran during 12-day war
The head of Israel's military said Wednesday that Israeli commandos had operated secretly inside Iran during the countries' 12-day war.
"We achieved full control over Iranian airspace and in every location where we chose to operate," chief of staff Eyal Zamir said in a televised address.
"This was made possible thanks to, among other things, coordination and tactical deception carried out by our air force and ground commando units," he added.
"The forces operated in secret deep within enemy territory and created operational freedom of action for us."
Both countries have claimed victory in the conflict since a ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday.
The war erupted on June 13 when Israel launched a surprise bombing campaign that it said aimed to stop Iran developing a nuclear weapon-an ambition Iran has consistently denied.
Zamir was the first Israeli official to say publicly that Israeli soldiers had operated on the ground in Iran.
"The campaign is not yet finished," he added. "We must remain on guard-many challenges await."
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