U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration’s military campaign against Iran paved the way for what he called “peace in the Middle East,” claiming that by destroying Tehran’s nuclear capacity and killing senior Iranian commanders, he eliminated the region’s “bully” and reshaped the balance of power in favor of peace.

In an interview with TIME Magazine, Trump said the Middle East had been “transformed” as a result of a decisive U.S. response to Iran’s aggression.

“When Bush went in and blew up Iraq, he destabilized the region,” Trump said. “You had two strong powers—Iraq and Iran—and when one was taken out, Iran became the bully. When we went in and knocked out their nuclear potential, that changed everything. It was complete obliteration.”

Trump praised what he called a “flawless” military operation against Iran, claiming “every bomb hit its mark” and that “not a single screw was out of joint.” He said the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was a turning point.

“The Soleimani thing, I think, was important. That’s when it started, in the first term,” he said, adding that U.S. operations had eliminated “three layers” of Iran’s military leadership.

According to Trump, this shift was crucial to recent peace agreements involving Israel and Arab countries.

“If Iran was still sitting there as a powerful bully, there would have been this looming threat over the region,” he said. “Now that the bully is gone, everybody’s open to peace.”

Trump emphasized the Abraham Accords as a historic breakthrough, claiming the agreements could not have been reached without Iran’s weakened position.

“We have peace in the Middle East. The Abraham Accords are going to start filling up very quickly. I actually know it,” he said.

He said Saudi Arabia would “lead the way” in joining the Abraham Accords and predicted that Riyadh would formally sign by the end of the year.

“Yes, I do. I do,” Trump said when asked if Saudi Arabia would join the accords by year’s end. He credited the diminished Iran threat for enabling broader Arab support, saying the UAE, Bahrain, and other countries joined “knowing there was an Iran threat. Now we don’t have the Iran threat anymore. We have peace in the Middle East.”

Trump said he had personally intervened to halt Israeli military operations in Gaza, describing a direct exchange with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I said to Bibi, ‘You can’t fight the world. You can fight individual battles, but the world’s against you,’” Trump recalled. “I stopped him, and everybody came together when I stopped it—it was amazing.”

Asked whether Hamas would face consequences if it violated the peace deal, Trump warned: “Oh, certainly. Yes, they will be in big trouble. If they don’t disarm, you have to go in.”

Trump also detailed Israel’s campaign to secure the release of hostages from Gaza.

“I said, ‘No more of that. You’re giving us the f—ing hostages, all of them,’” he told TIME, adding that the mass release “came together in an amazing way.”

He confirmed plans to visit Gaza “under the auspices of the Board of Peace,” a body he said was created to oversee reconstruction and political stabilization after the fighting.

“It wasn’t something I wanted to do, believe me,” he said, “but it’s going to be a very powerful group.”

Turning to Israel’s ambitions in the occupied West Bank, Trump warned that annexation would be unacceptable and would risk American support.

“It won’t happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries,” he said. “Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened.”

Trump also praised Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as “a much different man in person,” saying Abbas had congratulated him for “doing something no other president would have done.”

Asked about the future of Palestinian leadership, Trump said the Palestinians currently lack a visible leader and declined to take a stance on whether Israel should release imprisoned Fatah figure Marwan Barghouti.

“I was literally being confronted with that question 15 minutes before you called,” he said. “So I’ll be making a decision.”

Reflecting on his legacy in the Middle East, Trump said his administration had “reshaped” the region.

“It’s growing in a beautiful manner. While I’m there, it’s going to only get better and stronger. What happens after me, I can’t tell you that.”