WASHINGTON 

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Iran is seeking to work on a broader Middle East peace deal after lending its support to his plan to bring a ceasefire to the Gaza Strip.

"Iran wants to work on peace now. They've informed us, and they've acknowledged that they are totally in favor of this deal. They think it's a great thing, so we appreciate that, and we'll work with Iran," Trump said as he prepares to head to the Middle East this weekend.

"As you know, we have major sanctions on Iran and lots of other things. We would like to see them be able to rebuild their country too, but they can't have a nuclear weapon," he added.

Trump was alluding to strikes he authorized on Iran's nuclear program in June, which he and his senior officials have maintained completely destroyed any Iranian nuclear capability.

The US president said during a Fox News interview Wednesday evening that Tehran was "about one month, maybe two months, away from having a nuclear weapon" when he launched the attacks during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel.

Trump earlier announced that Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a 20-point plan he laid out Sept. 29 to bring a ceasefire to Gaza, release all Israeli captives being held there in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, and a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip.

A second phase of the plan calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza without Hamas’ participation, the formation of a security force comprising Palestinians and troops from Arab and Islamic countries, and the disarmament of Hamas. It also stipulates Arab and Islamic funding for the new administration and the reconstruction of the Strip, with limited participation from the Palestinian Authority.

Arab and Muslim counties have largely welcomed the plan, but some officials have also said that many details in it need discussion and negotiations to be fully implemented.