Donald Trump: "US must make a meaningful deal with Iran”

The United States must make a meaningful deal with Iran, amid "good talks” with the country, according to US President Donald Trump.

"Good talks are taking place,” the White House official said yesterday at the first meeting of the Peace Council in Washington, noting: "Over the years, it has proven difficult to make a meaningful deal with Iran. We have to make a meaningful deal, otherwise bad things will happen. We may have to take a step further, or we may not. We may reach a deal, you will probably find out in the next ten days, but today's meeting is proof that nothing is impossible, with determined leadership.”

The US wants Iran to give up its nuclear program, but Tehran has refused and denies that it is trying to develop an atomic weapon. Trump has stressed that there can be no peace in the Middle East if Iran has nuclear weapons.

A US official told Reuters on Wednesday that he expects Iran to submit a written proposal on how to address US concerns.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also spoke at the Peace Council yesterday, noting that the situation in the Gaza Strip could not be "resolved” by existing international institutions, which is why this Council is needed.

"We have to get this done, there is no Plan B for Gaza, Plan B is going back to war,” Marco Rubio said.

Referring to the war in the Gaza Strip, President Trump said: "The war in Gaza has stopped. Hamas will give up their weapons, that's what they promised. If they don't, there will be tough measures. We are committed to achieving peace in Gaza.”

In his speech, the White House leader recalled that he has stopped eight wars and emphasized that the Peace Council Initiative is one of his most important projects.

Trump recalled that he wants this Council to mediate conflicts worldwide, not only to ensure peace in Gaza. Donald Trump created the Peace Council this year to end the war in the Gaza Strip, but also to resolve armed conflicts worldwide. On January 23, in Davos, Switzerland, Trump signed the documents establishing the Council. Its creation had been approved by a United Nations Security Council resolution, as part of Trump's plan for Gaza.

In the past month, Italy, Cyprus, Greece and Romania, as well as the European Union, decided to join yesterday's meeting in Washington as observers, which means they do not participate in decision-making. Apart from Cyprus and Romania, none of these countries were represented at yesterday's meeting.

Bulgaria, Hungary, Albania and Kosovo are the only European countries to have joined the Council as members.

• Nicuşor Dan: "We all want peace, stability and prosperity in Gaza”

President Nicuşor Dan made a brief statement yesterday, during the Peace Council meeting, stating: "Mr. President Trump, thank you for organizing this meeting, for your involvement and leadership in the Gaza peace plan and for the efforts made in other parts of the world. I think we all want peace, stability and prosperity in Gaza. The question is how to do it. This meeting is important. Romania can increase the number of interventions to save children there, up to 1,000. We have good expertise in emergency intervention and we can help and donate. We can also help at the education level, offering programs for students. We have expertise in the area of rebuilding and renovating schools. We have experience and can help rebuild institutions, such as the police, the judiciary and public administration. We can contribute with experts, we have done this in other parts of the world. This knowledge allows us to ensure the participation of trainers and experts. We have good relations with both the Jewish people and the Palestinian people. So, you can count on us”.

Yesterday, Donald Trump announced that Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait had donated over 7 billion dollars to help Gaza, and Indonesia, Morocco, Albania, Kosovo and Kazakhstan "have sent troops and police forces to stabilize the situation in Gaza”.