US President Donald Trump on Monday seemingly predicated an emerging Iran peace deal on Muslim-majority nations across the Middle East and beyond normalising relations with Israel.
This brand new demand came on the heels of a potential memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the US and Iran to end the war on all fronts and potentially lift oil waivers.
It is worth noting that the nations named by Trump, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have traditionally advocated for a two-state solution between Palestine and Israel as a precursor to any discussions on the normalisation of relations with Israel.
In a lengthy social media post, Trump listed countries whose leaders he spoke with on Saturday aboutAbraham Accords 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,” he wrote.
“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 govern the normalisation of diplomatic relations between Israel and countries that have historically been hostile to it. They, however, remain unpopular among the public in many parts of the region, not least because they do not tackle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“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.”
A day prior, US Senator Lindsey Graham – a close ally of Trump and a staunch supporter of Israel – wrote on X that if Arab and Muslim nations would join the Abraham Accords as part of the Iran deal, it would herald “one of the most consequential [agreements] in the history of the Middle East”, but warned that refusal to join would render an agreement “unacceptable”.
“Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan joining the Abraham Accords would be beyond transformative for the region and world. It is a brilliant move by President Trump,” Graham added.
Trump also hinted that “support and cooperation” with Arab and Muslim nations would be “further enhanced and strengthened by their joining the Nations of the historic Abraham Accords”, adding, “Who knows, perhaps the Islamic Republic of Iran would like to join, as well!”