Iran cancels nuclear talks with U.S.

[Anchor]

Amid rising concerns of escalation, the nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran scheduled for today have ultimately been canceled.

We are connected to Kim Gae-hyung, our Middle East correspondent.

Kim, has the sixth round of nuclear negotiations completely fallen through?

Is there no possibility of them being reinstated?

[Reporter]

Iran suspects that the United States is behind Israel, so it will be difficult for them to sit down with the U.S. right now.

Although there have been significant differences in opinions, the U.S. and Iran have held five rounds of negotiations until now, but the recent armed conflict has made the continuation of negotiations uncertain.

[Anchor]

Does this mean we are heading towards a prolonged conflict?

[Reporter]

Today, Iran's foreign minister made a significant statement.

He said that if Israel stops its attacks, Iran will not retaliate, which can be interpreted as Iran indicating that it will not escalate the situation further, although it will certainly retaliate if attacked by Israel.

However, Israel has warned of additional attacks.

At the start of this operation, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had stated that the operation would continue as needed.

CNN reported, citing White House and Israeli officials, that this operation could last not just days but weeks.

Israel's goal is to completely eliminate Iran's nuclear capabilities, but since these nuclear facilities are protected by strong defenses deep underground, achieving this goal may take a long time or even be impossible.

Moreover, if Iran or its proxy forces strike U.S. facilities in the Middle East, leading to direct U.S. intervention, the war could spiral out of control.

There are also concerns that other countries in the Middle East could get involved.

This has been reported from Dubai.