Trump Administration Officials Signal a Willingness To Renew Talks With Iran To Avoid a Prolonged War

The Trump administration on Sunday signaled a willingness to renew talks with Iran and avoid a prolonged war in the aftermath of a surprise attack on three of the country’s nuclear sites as American officials assessed Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and the threat of retaliation against American interests.President Trump, who addressed the nation from the White House on Saturday night, allowed his national security team to speak for him Sunday morning, staying quiet on social media and scheduling no public appearances. The coordinated messaging by his vice president, Pentagon chief, top military adviser and secretary of state suggested a confidence that any fallout from the attack would be manageable and that Iran’s lack of military capabilities would ultimately force it back to the bargaining table.Defense Secretary Hegseth said at a news conference that America “does not seek war” with Iran while Vice President Vance said the strikes have given Tehran the possibility of returning to negotiate with Washington.“Operation Midnight Hammer, involved decoys and deception, and met with no Iranian resistance, according to Hegseth and.“This mission was not and has not been about regime change,” Hegseth added. Caine said the goal of the operation — destroying nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan — had been achieved.“Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,” said the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General Dan Caine.Mr. Vance said in a television interview that while he would not discuss “sensitive intelligence about what we’ve seen on the ground,” he felt “very confident that we’ve substantially delayed their development of a nuclear weapon.”Pressed further, he told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “I think that we have really pushed their program back by a very long time. I think that it’s going to be many many years before the Iranians are able to develop a nuclear weapon.”The vice president said the United States “negotiated aggressively” with Iran to try to find a peaceful settlement and that Trump made his decision after assessing the Iranians were not acting “in good faith.”“I actually think it provides an opportunity to reset this relationship, reset these negotiations and get us in a place where Iran can decide not to be a threat to its neighbors, not to be a threat to the United States and if they’re willing to do that, the United States is all ears,” Mr. Vance said.Secretary of State Rubio said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that “there are no planned military operations right now against Iran, unless, unless they mess around and they attack” American interests.Mr. Trump has previously threatened other countries, but often backed down or failed to follow through, given his promises to his coalition of voters not to entangle the United States in an extended war. It was not immediately clear whether Iran saw the avoidance of a wider conflict as in its best interests.The Pentagon briefing did not provide any new details about Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Mr. Hegseth said the timeline for the strikes was the result of a schedule set by Mr. Trump for talks with Iran about its nuclear ambitions.

Trump Administration Officials Signal a Willingness To Renew Talks With Iran To Avoid a Prolonged War

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