(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the United States intends to initiate discussions with Iran.

Speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Trump told reporters, "We have scheduled Iran talks, and they want to talk."

He further explained that "They've requested a meeting...and if we can put something down on paper, that will be fine. It'll be good," while also cautioning, "We'll see what happens."

Trump’s special representative for Middle East affairs, Steve Witkoff, indicated that the meeting is expected to occur within "the next week or so."

When questioned about what might prompt him to launch another military operation against Iran, the president responded, "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 want to meet...they want to work something out."

On June 22, the United States escalated its campaign targeting Iran’s nuclear capabilities. B-2 stealth bombers dropped 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs—commonly referred to as bunker busters—on the Fordo and Natanz nuclear facilities.

Simultaneously, numerous Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from submarines struck Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site.

The sixth scheduled dialogue round between the US and Iran was initially planned for June 15. However, Israeli air raids on Iran’s military, nuclear, and civilian installations on June 13 disrupted the diplomatic timetable.

The 12-day military confrontation between Israel and Iran concluded with a ceasefire brokered by the United States, which came into force on June 24.

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