Washington (United States) (AFP) – US President Donald Trump on Monday urged Muslim-majority nations across the Middle East and beyond to normalize relations with Israel as part of the emerging Iran peace deal. In a lengthy social media post, Trump listed countries whose leaders he spoke with in a conference call on Saturday about efforts to end the war with Iran.
“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. Those Countries discussed are Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates (already a Member!), Qatar, Pakistan, Turkiye, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain (already a Member!)”
The Abraham Accords are a set of agreements brokered under Trump in 2020 and widely heralded as a foreign policy success. They govern the normalization of diplomatic relations between Israel and countries that have historically been hostile to it. While the accords were welcomed in diplomatic circles as a step towards a more peaceful Middle East, they remain unpopular among the public in many parts of the region, not least because they do not address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Trump in November 2025 that the kingdom was open to joining the Abraham Accords, as long as there was “a clear path” toward a two-state solution. “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,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post.
“It should start with the immediate signing by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and everybody else should follow suit. If they don’t, they should not be part of this Deal in that it shows bad intention,” he wrote. Trump even implied that Israel’s bitter enemy — Iran — should sign on to the accords. “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,” Trump wrote.
Over the three-day US holiday weekend, Trump and his top diplomat Marco Rubio have offered varying assessments of the timing of a deal to end the war, at times suggesting it was imminent. In his latest post, while introducing what appears to be a completely new element to the peace talks, Trump said that “Negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran are proceeding nicely!”
Iran warned Monday that, while some progress had been made, it was not yet close to an agreement, while Trump declared: “The deal with Iran will either be a great and meaningful one, or there will be no deal.” Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf arrived in Qatar on Monday as part of the “diplomatic process” to end the war with the United States, state media reported.
© 2024 AFP
