Speaking before the Israeli Knesset on Monday, President Donald Trump said that Iran is tired of war and Washington is ready for peace after US attacks on Iranian nuclear sites in June.
"Iran, we are ready when you are and it will be the best decision Iran has ever made, and it’s gonna happen," he said in an address welcoming the first phase of a US-mediated Gaza peace plan.
"Because of us, the enemies of all civilization are in retreat, thanks to the bravery and skill of the Israeli defense forces and Operation Rising Lion," he said, referring to Israel's surprise air strikes on Iran on June 13 which triggered the 12-day war.
Praising Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his first foreign address to a parliament during his second term, he said: "Great job and my people loved working with you. Many of Iran’s top terrorists including nuclear scientists and commanders have been extinguished from this earth."
During Operation Midnight Hammer, he said, which saw the US join the war and strike Iran's three main nuclear facilities, Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan, "the US military flew seven of those beautiful B2 bombers, (we just ordered 28 more of them, a little updated version) and almost 100 other planes went with them, including fighter jets".
As 20 living hostages were released from Gaza after two years in Iran-backed Hamas captivity, Trump said that since he came to office, the US had finished eight wars in eight months, including the Iran war.
"We dropped 14 bombs on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which has been confirmed to have obliterated those facilities and together we helped stop the world’s number one state sponsor of terrorism from making nuclear weapons. If we didn’t do that, there would be a dark cloud over this [Gaza] deal. This was our last shot,” he said.
"If there were large scale nuclear weapons in the hands of iran we wouldn’t be here today. We took a big cloud off the Middle East and off Israel,” he said, referring to the other nations in the region who have for decades feared Iran’s nuclear capabilities. "They took a big hit."
As Trump now looks to expand the 2020 Abraham Accords, which saw Arab nations such as the United Arab Emirates normalize relations with Israel, he spoke of peace with Iran.
"It would be great if we made a peace deal with them, wouldn’t it be nice, I think they want to, I think they’re tired," he said.
"When someone told me they had started their nuclear program again, I said, they’re not starting anything, they want to survive, the last thing they want is to start digging holes again in mountains that just got blown up. But first we have to get Russia done."
Speaking of Iran's military allies in the region, he said that "the enemies of all civilization are in retreat".
"In Lebanon, the dagger of Hezbollah long aimed at Israel’s throat has been totally shattered and my administration is supporting the new president of Lebanon and permanently disarm Iran’s Hezbollah brigades," he said.
Since October 7, when Iran-backed Hamas invaded Israel, killing 1,200 mostly civilians and taking more than 250 hostage, Iran and its allies across the region joined Hamas in attacking Israel from countries including Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.
"By force of arms you’ve won," Trump told Israel's parliament after the longest Gaza war since Hamas took control of the strip in 2007 came to an end.
