New Delhi: As negotiations with Iran continue with Donald Trump claiming there would soon be a breakthrough in the “complex puzzle”, the US president Monday “mandatorily requested” Muslim-majority nations led by Saudi Arabia and Qatar to join the Abraham Accords as part of the West Asia peace deal.
The demand targeted Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Pakistan, as the remaining nations involved were already signatories to the Abraham Accords. He even claimed that Iran too would eventually be part of it.
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump said he had instructed his representatives to begin the process of expanding the accords, which were first brokered during his presidency in 2020 and led to normalisation agreements between Israel and several Arab nations, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
Yet major powers in the region, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, stopped short of formally joining the initiative, citing unresolved Palestinian issues and broader strategic concerns.
According to an Axios report, “The leaders, especially those of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan who don’t have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, were surprised by Trump’s request.” The report quoted a US official saying, “There was silence on the line and Trump joked and asked if they were still there.”
“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, ” Trump posted on his Truth Social account.
“By copy of this TRUTH, I am asking my representatives to begin, and successfully complete, the process of signing these countries into the already historic Abraham Accords,” he added.
“The Abraham Accords have proven to be, for the countries involved (UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, and Kazakhstan), a financial, economic, and social boom, even during this time of conflict and war, with the current members never even suggesting leaving, or taking so much as even a pause. The reason for this is that the Abraham Accords have been great for them, and will be even better for everybody, and bring true power, strength, and peace to the Middle East for the first time in 5,000 years. It will be a document respected like no other that has ever been signed, anywhere in the world,” he posted.
Trump said the proposal emerged during discussions with several regional leaders, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir, among others.
“During my discussions on Saturday… 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… 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 posted.
He said the agreements had brought unprecedented stability to West Asia and suggested that even Iran could eventually become part of the framework if a nuclear or security agreement were reached with Washington.
“Wow, now that would be something special!” Trump wrote of the possibility of Iran joining the accords.
In March, reports had said that Saudi, Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt are working on a new bloc—a security platform that will enable greater cooperation in the defence industry and “broader defence matters”.
According to a report in Middle East Eye, the foreign ministers of these four countries held talks on the sidelines of the Riyadh summit of Islamic countries.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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