WASHINGTON — President Trump revealed early Monday that he ordered the leaders of Arab countries and other allies in the Middle East to join the Abraham Accords if they want to be part of the Iran nuclear deal, which he said is “proceeding nicely!”
Trump revealed in an early morning Truth Social post that he told the heads of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey, Jordan, and Bahrain in a call Saturday that he wants those countries to normalize relations with Israel, as sought in the 2020 US-brokered accords.
“I stated that, after all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords,” Trump recounted on Truth Social.
His remarks during a conference call with leaders of those countries had been widely reported already. Notably, the UAE, which is hawkish on Iran, and Bahrain are already part of the Abraham Accords.
“It may be possible that one or two have a reason for not doing so, and that will be accepted, but most should be ready, willing, and able to make this Settlement with Iran a far more Historic Event than it would, otherwise, be,” he added, noting that he is “mandatorily requesting” it.
“If they don’t, they should not be part of this Deal in that it shows bad intention.”
Trump also wildly suggested that Iran could join the Abraham Accords, something that would be an extraordinary breakthrough given the decades of hostilities between Tehran and Israel, coupled with the fact that the two countries were just in an active war.
“In speaking to numerous of the Great Leaders mentioned above, they would be honored, as soon as our Document is signed, to have the Islamic Republic of Iran as part of the Abraham Accords. Wow, now that would be something special!” Trump declared in the post.
“[I]f 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.”
It’s also not clear that Israel would be on board with Iran joining the accords.
Throughout his presidency, Trump has sought to push Saudi Arabia into normalizing relations with Israel, at times, reportedly having tense discussions about that with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.
The Saudis and other Middle Eastern countries have insisted that the Palestinian issue be resolved before they fully normalize relations with Israel.
Before the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, the Saudi crown prince repeatedly signaled that his country was moving in that direction, and the Biden administration had worked towards achieving that breakthrough.
But the Israel-Hamas war seemingly poisoned the well and inflamed tensions between the Arab countries and Israel.
The Abraham Accords, which saw the UAE and Bahrain normalize relations with Israel, are widely regarded as one of Trump’s signature foreign policy achievements. Morocco and Sudan later joined the accords.
At the moment, the Trump administration is trying to iron out a “broad template” of a peace plan with Iran, that a senior official claims is about 95% of the way there, but likely a few days — at least — away from getting signed.
After speculation mounted over the weekend that a deal with Iran was imminent, Trump publicly stressed that he told his team not to “rush” into it.
“Negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran are proceeding nicely! It will only be a Great Deal for all or, no Deal at all — Back to the Battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before — And nobody wants that!” the president added in his Truth post.
