U.S. President Links Abraham Accords to Potential Iran Agreement

Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he asked Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Türkiye, Egypt and Jordan to join the Abraham Accords en masse to normalise relations with ‌Israel as he tries to negotiate an agreement to end the war with Iran.

Pakistan rejected the proposal. None of the other countries has so far publicly reacted to President Trump's demand and a positive response was unlikely when the public mistrust of Israel in these Muslim nations remains high over the scale of its military offensive in Gaza.

President Trump said he spoke on Saturday to leaders of those countries, as well as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which have already signed the accords, a set of agreements to normalise relations with Israel.

"I am mandatorily requesting that all Countries immediately sign the Abraham Accords, and that, ⁠if Iran signs its Agreement with me, as President of the United States of America, it would be an Honor to have them also be part of this unparalleled World Coalition," President Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

He cited "all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together."

President Trump said one or two of the countries he spoke with may have a reason for not joining, but most should be "ready, willing, and able to make this Settlement with Iran a far more Historic Event than it would, otherwise, ‌be."

For Saudi Arabia — the birthplace of Islam and custodian of its two holiest sites, Mecca and Medina — recognising Israel would represent far more than a diplomatic breakthrough. It remains a highly sensitive national security issue closely linked to resolving one of the Middle East’s longest-running and most complex conflicts.

The Kingdom has consistently maintained that it will not normalise relations with Israel unless there is a clear agreement on a roadmap towards Palestinian statehood. Egypt, Jordan, and Türkiye already maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, although those ties have come under increasing strain since the outbreak of the Gaza war.

President Trump also ⁠said negotiations with Iran were "proceeding nicely," but gave no indication a deal was imminent.

Longtime Trump ally Senator Lindsey Graham embraced the idea of linking Iran to the Abraham Accords as something that would lead to regional integration and create "a powerhouse for economic opportunity."

President Trump has repeatedly said he ⁠wants to expand the accords that he brokered during his first term in the White House.

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed during President Trump's first term in 2020, breaking a longstanding taboo to become the first Arab states to recognise Israel in a quarter century. Morocco and Sudan followed suit.

Source: Reuters



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