Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Donald Trump, and United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed participate in the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords, which normalizes relations between Israel and some of its Middle East neighbors in a strategic realignment of Middle East countries vis-à-vis Iran, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S., September 15, 2020.
tom brenner reuter
US President Donald Trump said on Monday he has called on countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey to join en masse in the Abraham Accords, which seeks to normalize relations with Israel as part of a deal with Iran.
President Trump said he spoke Saturday with the leaders of those countries, as well as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which have already signed the deal, a series of agreements to normalize relations with Israel.
“I will force every nation to sign the Abraham Accords immediately,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “And if Iran signs the agreement with me, it would be my honor, as President of the United States, to make Iran a member of this unique global coalition.”
He cited “all the efforts the United States has made to try to piece together this very complex puzzle.”
President Trump said those countries would be honored to have Iran as part of the deal if there is an agreement to end the war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s post.
Trump said that while one or two of the countries he spoke to may have reasons not to participate, most countries should be “ready, willing and able to make this reconciliation with Iran a much more historic event than it would otherwise be.”
Trump also said negotiations with Iran were “progressing well,” but gave no indication that a deal was imminent.
President Trump has repeatedly said he wants to expand on the deal he brokered during his first term in the White House.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed into law during President Trump’s first term in 2020, breaking a long-standing taboo and becoming the first Arab countries in a quarter-century to recognize Israel. Morocco and Sudan followed suit.
President Trump was optimistic that regional power Saudi Arabia would eventually join the deal after a cease-fire took effect in the Gaza Strip last year, but Riyadh has shown no desire to move forward.
Egypt and Jordan already have established relations with Israel.
