Trump demands Arab nations join Abraham Accords as condition of Iran deal
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The news: Donald Trump escalated his Middle East diplomacy on Monday, demanding Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan join the Abraham Accords as a condition of any Iran peace deal.
What they said: Trump said on Truth Social that negotiations with Iran were “proceeding nicely” but that it “should be mandatory” for those countries to simultaneously sign the accords.
He said the process “should start with the immediate signing by Saudi Arabia and Qatar,” warning that countries that refused “should not be part of this Deal in that it shows bad intention.”
Trump confirmed he raised the Abraham Accords with leaders of those countries during a phone call on Saturday.
The context: Pakistan rejected the proposal outright, with a source familiar with the matter telling Reuters the two issues were “not interlinked and cannot be made so” and that “Pakistan is under no compulsion to adhere to any such demand.”
Saudi Arabia and Qatar have not responded publicly at the time of writing.
Arab leaders seemed surprised by the demand during Saturday’s call, with an official telling Axios there was silence on the line before Trump joked and asked if they were still there.
The sources: Donald Trump, Axios, Bloomberg, Reuters
