HAGUE – US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that reaching a deal to end the war in Gaza is now “very close,” attributing the progress in negotiations to recent US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
“I think great progress is being made on Gaza. Because of this attack that we made, I think we’re going to have some very good news,” Trump said during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague.
Trump stated that efforts toward a ceasefire or political agreement were already advancing prior to the strikes, but claimed that US military action had significantly accelerated those efforts. “It showed a lot of power. I think it helped … Separately, even before this, we were very close to making a deal on Gaza,” he said.
He also cited an update from US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who reportedly told him that “Gaza is very close” to reaching an agreement. While details of the potential deal were not disclosed, Trump’s remarks suggest active backchannel diplomacy is underway.
The president controversially likened Sunday’s massive bombing campaign on Iran’s nuclear plants to the US nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. “That hit ended the war. I don’t want to use an example of Hiroshima, I don’t want to use an example of Nagasaki, but that was essentially the same thing, that ended that war. If we didn’t take that out, they would have been fighting right now,” Trump said.
The comments drew immediate attention for their historical parallels and the implication that US strikes were decisive not only against Iran, but also in reshaping broader regional dynamics, including the Zionist war on Gaza.
