During his speech Thursday morning at the first convening of the Board of Peace, President Donald Trump said that, for years, peace in the Middle East had seemed an unattainable goal.
Peace, Trump said, “is an easy word to say, but a hard word to produce.”
But “with determined leadership, nothing is impossible,” he added.
“When I took office, the war in Gaza was raging with thousands of people being killed and no end in sight. Today, thanks to unrelenting diplomacy and the commitment of many of the great people in this room, we have 59 countries signed up on (aiding) Gaza.”
The purpose of the recently established international organization — which was approved by the United Nations — is to coordinate humanitarian relief and reconstruction efforts across countries for the Gaza Strip, after it became an active war zone during the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Representatives from more than 40 countries attended the meeting in person, with more streaming virtually.
Trump announced that the United States is contributing $10 billion in aid to the Gaza Strip, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is raising $2 billion for Gaza and FIFA, the international soccer association, is helping raise $75 million for projects. Other Middle Eastern countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have all pledged at least $1 billion, with multiple countries offering law enforcement assistance and future fundraising efforts to support the effort to rebuild the Gaza Strip.
“All of these countries are working together around the vision of a Middle East that is free from the curse of extremism and terror,” Trump said. “There’s nothing more important than peace, and there’s nothing less expensive than peace. You know, when you go to war, it costs you 100 times what it costs to make peace.”
Yet conflict with Iran continues
The meeting comes at a time when tensions between the U.S. and Iran have been increasing. Threats of war loom as the U.S. has built a large military build-up in the Middle Eastern region, per Reuters.
Speaking Thursday, Trump said his Cabinet has made progress with Iranian leadership toward a “meaningful deal,” while also crediting a U.S. military operation last June that struck three Iranian nuclear facilities as a key factor enabling current peace measures.
Iran has not been publicly listed as an invitee or member of the Board of Peace.
Trump said more information regarding the next moves regarding Iran will be known in 10 days or so. “We do have some work to do with Iran. They can’t have a nuclear weapon. It’s very simple, he said. “You can’t have peace in the Middle East if they have a nuclear weapon.”
“Now is the time for Iran to join us on a path that will complete what we’re doing,” Trump continued. “If they join us, that’ll be great. If they don’t join us, that’ll be great too, but it will be a very different path. They cannot continue to threaten the civility of the entire region, and they must make a deal.”
If Iran doesn’t join, “bad things will happen,” he said.