Trump denies reports on providing Iran $30 bn for non-military nuclear program
US President Donald Trump dismissed media reports that said there were discussions about the possibility of helping Iran receive $30 billion to build a civilian nuclear program.
Citing officials, CNN and NBC have reported that the Trump administration had discussed possible financial preliminary proposals for Iran in return of ending its uranium activity.
Trump called the reports a 'HOAX'.
"Who in the Fake News Media is the SleazeBag saying that 'President Trump wants to give Iran $30 Billion to build non-military Nuclear facilities.' Never heard of this ridiculous idea," Trump wrote on Truth Social late on Friday.
Earlier this week, Trump announced a ceasefire in the so-called 12-day war between Israel and Iran.
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The National
3 hours ago
- The National
Gaza ceasefire talks intensify as Trump suggests a deal may be within reach
Gaza ceasefire talks being held in Cairo have moved up a gear, with US President Donald Trump saying an agreement could be reached within a week and mediator Qatar speaking of a window of opportunity that should be seized. Speaking from the Oval Office during the signing on Friday of a peace accord between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, Mr Trump said he had spoken earlier with people involved in brokering the previous truce in the 20-month Israel-Gaza war. 'We think within the next week, we're going to get a ceasefire,' he said without elaborating. In Qatar, which has been mediating in the conflict together with the US and Egypt, Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said negotiators are engaging with Israel and Hamas to build on momentum from this week's Israel-Iran ceasefire and work towards a Gaza truce and the release of hostages held by Hamas -led groups. 'If we don't utilise this window of opportunity and this momentum, it's an opportunity lost among many in the near past. We don't want to see that again,' he told AFP in an interview. "We have seen US pressure and what it can accomplish," he said, referring to a truce agreed in January. The US, Qatar and Egypt have been trying to broker a new ceasefire after that truce collapsed on March 18 when Israel resumed military operations, two weeks after it ordered a halt to relief aid entering the coastal strip where hundreds of thousands are facing hunger and shortages of basic items. Mr Trump did not explain why he was optimistic about reaching a truce soon. The US has said several times previously that a deal was within reach, only for the talks to reach a deadlock as both Israel and Hamas stuck to their conditions. Sources familiar with the peace effort in Cairo told The National that the talks have gathered pace in recent days, with US envoy Bishara Bahbah, a Palestinian-American, engaging intense conversations with the Egyptian mediators and senior Hamas officials who have been in Cairo since Monday. Mr Trump's special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is expected in the region early next week, when he will visit Egypt, Israel and Qatar, according to the sources. A mid-level Israeli official was in Cairo earlier this week and senior negotiators from the Mossad spy agency and military were expected soon, the sources said. There has been no confirmation of this yet from the Israeli government. The sources told The National earlier this week that the proposals on the table to pause the war and secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza were not significantly different from those discussed in previous rounds. However, the current discussions are centred on modifying those proposals to provide for a "comprehensive accord" to be negotiated during a proposed 60-day truce, which includes a long-term ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, they said on Saturday. However, Israel remained reluctant to agree at present to anything beyond a temporary truce and the release of all the hostages, they said. Additionally, Israel continues to demand a security presence in Gaza as well as the complete dismantling of Hamas's military and governing capacities. Hamas has meanwhile shown some flexibility over the timeline for the initial release of 10 living hostages and the remains of half of those who died while in captivity, as provided for in the proposals, said the sources. Hamas still holds about 50 hostages, of whom 20 are believed to be alive, according to Israel's military. Hamas had previously said it wanted to stagger the release of the 10 living hostages over the 60-day truce to ensure Israel's compliance with the deal. Israel rejected this, insisting all 10 must be freed the day the truce goes into effect. Hamas also wants Israel to remove its troops from designated land corridors for the delivery and distribution of aid to Gazans, the sources said. It also insists that a proposed commission of independent Palestinian technocrats start running the war-battered enclave the day the truce goes into force. The sources said proposals for Hamas to lay down its arms and keep them in storage, as well as the departure from Gaza of senior Hamas officials to live in exile, are still on the negotiating table. The group is open to both conditions, but categorically refusing to disarm, and will agree to the exile of some of its leaders only if Israel guarantees not to target them. The Gaza war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israeli communities, killing about 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage. Israel responded with a devastating military campaign that has killed more that 56,000 Palestinians and wounded more than twice that number, according to authorities in Gaza. The fighting has also displaced most of the territory's 2.3 million residents and reduced much of its built-up area to rubble.
Zawya
4 hours ago
- Zawya
Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine on the Peace Agreement Between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda
We welcome the signing of the peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda. This important achievement for Africa and international security has been made possible thanks to the decisive role of the United States and personally President Donald Trump, as well as a number of countries and international organizations. In particular, we commend the constructive efforts of the Presidents of Angola and Kenya, the African Union, the East African Community, the Southern African Development Community, and the United Nations. The State of Qatar has made a significant contribution to advancing the peace settlement, especially by ensuring complementarity and coherence among various mediation initiatives. Ukraine highly values the effective mediation by the United States. We congratulate U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and American diplomacy on this achievement. The active involvement of the American side in the negotiation process played a decisive role in reaching and signing the peace agreement. We hope for the responsible efforts of both parties in implementing the peace agreement and in ensuring lasting peace and security in the Great Lakes region. This will create favourable conditions for strengthening the economic potential and social stability of the states in the region, improving their investment attractiveness, and deepening economic ties with other countries. Ukraine reaffirms its commitment to comprehensively intensify mutually beneficial cooperation with the countries of the region, including a readiness to contribute meaningfully to achieving their socio-economic development goals. We are confident that the United States can play a similarly decisive role in achieving a just peace and ending Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. This peace agreement demonstrates that it is possible to stop the killing and restore peace even under challenging circumstances, when the international community acts resolutely and the parties participate in the peace process in good faith. We emphasize that the foundation of the peaceful settlement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda is based on the fundamental principles of the UN Charter, including the mutual obligation of states to respect each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty within internationally recognized borders, to refrain from the threat or use of force, to avoid interference in internal affairs, and to facilitate the return of refugees and internally displaced persons. It is precisely these universally recognized principles of international law that underpin Ukraine's proposals for ending the war in Europe and restoring a comprehensive, just, and sustainable peace for Ukraine. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
Dubai Eye
5 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
Rwanda, Congo sign peace deal in US to end fighting, attract investment
Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo signed a US-brokered peace agreement on Friday, raising hopes for an end to fighting that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more this year. The agreement marks a breakthrough in talks held by US President Donald Trump's administration and aims to attract billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals. At a ceremony with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, the two African countries' foreign ministers signed the agreement pledging to implement a 2024 deal that would see Rwandan troops withdraw from eastern Congo within 90 days, according to a copy seen by Reuters. Kinshasa and Kigali will also launch a regional economic integration framework within 90 days, the agreement said. "They were going at it for many years... it is one of the worst wars that anyone has ever seen. And I just happened to have somebody that was able to get it settled," Trump said on Friday, ahead of the signing of the deal in Washington. "We're getting, for the United States, a lot of the mineral rights from the Congo as part of it." Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe called the agreement a turning point. Congo Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner said it must be followed by disengagement. Trump later met both officials in the Oval Office, where he presented them with letters inviting Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame to Washington to sign a package of agreements that Massad Boulos, Trump's senior adviser for Africa, dubbed the "Washington Accord". Nduhungirehe told Trump that past deals had not been implemented and urged Trump to stay engaged. Trump warned of "very severe penalties, financial and otherwise", if the agreement is violated. Rwanda has sent at least 7,000 soldiers over the border, according to analysts and diplomats, in support of the M23 rebels, who seized eastern Congo's two largest cities and lucrative mining areas in a lightning advance earlier this year. The gains by M23, the latest cycle in a decades-old conflict with roots in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, sparked fears that a wider war could draw in Congo's neighbours. ECONOMIC DEALS Boulos told Reuters in May that Washington wanted the peace agreement and accompanying minerals deals to be signed simultaneously this summer. Rubio said on Friday that heads of state would be "here in Washington in a few weeks to finalise the complete protocol and agreement". However, the agreement signed on Friday gives Congo and Rwanda three months to launch a framework "to expand foreign trade and investment derived from regional critical mineral supply chains". A source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday that another agreement on the framework would be signed by the heads of state at a separate White House event at an unspecified time. There is an understanding that progress in ongoing talks in Doha - a separate but parallel mediation effort with delegations from the Congolese government and M23 - is essential before the signing of the economic framework, the source said. The agreement signed on Friday voiced "full support" for the Qatar-hosted talks. It also says Congo and Rwanda will form a joint security coordination mechanism within 30 days and implement a plan agreed last year to monitor and verify the withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers within three months. Congolese military operations targeting the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Congo-based armed group that includes remnants of Rwanda's former army and militias that carried out the 1994 genocide, are meant to conclude over the same timeframe.
