President Donald Trump has said that any agreement with Iran should include a requirement for several additional countries, to join the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-brokered agreements aimed at normalizing relations with Israel that were forged during Trump’s first term.
In a social media post, Trump said negotiations are “proceeding nicely” but tied any eventual agreement to expanded participation in the agreements first signed in 2020.
He pointed to Saudi Arabia and Qatar as countries that should “immediately” sign on, followed by Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates became the first countries to join in 2020. He wrote 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.”
The U.S President said that he brought up the Abraham Accords plan with leaders during negotiations on Saturday.Trump suggested he may accept “one or two” countries declining to sign, but said most should be willing. Egypt and Jordan already formally recognize Israel and have long-standing peace treaties.
It remains unclear when or how any deal with Iran might be completed, or how Abraham Accords membership might affect an agreement. He suggested even Iran could eventually sign on, if an agreement is reached.
The accords are a series of diplomatic, economic and security agreements created with U.S. influence during Trump’s first term, originally between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, followed by Sudan, Morocco, and more recently, Kazakhstan.
They were framed as an effort to promote cooperation among countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and the administration saw them as partly paving a path toward full ties with Israel.
Trump has repeatedly described the agreements as one of the major foreign policy achievements of his presidency and has long argued that expanding participation in the accords could strengthen regional stability and cooperation. By linking a potential Iran agreement to broader diplomatic normalization, Trump suggested that ongoing talks with Tehran should not be viewed solely through the lens of nuclear negotiations or sanctions relief, but also as part of a wider geopolitical framework for the Middle East.
Trump’s remarks are likely to draw attention from both allies and critics of the Abraham Accords framework. Supporters may see the comments as evidence of continued momentum for regional integration, while critics may question whether linking Iran negotiations to normalization agreements could complicate diplomatic efforts.
International observers are also expected to closely watch whether any future agreement with Iran includes broader political or regional components beyond nuclear and security matters.
For now, Trump’s comments indicate that the White House views the Abraham Accords not simply as past diplomatic achievements, but as an ongoing platform for reshaping alliances and relationships in the Middle East.
As negotiations continue, questions remain about whether regional governments will support further expansion of the accords and how Iran will respond to efforts linking diplomacy with normalization involving Israel.
Israel’s Opposition Leader Criticises Deal
Earlier, Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid asserted that the deal being discussed between the U.S. and Iran fails to achieve any of Israel’s goals for the war, as he accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to influence a better agreement.
Lapid, who is part of an alliance attempting to unseat Netanyahu in elections this year, said details of the emerging deal are “disturbing.” “The deal is bad for Israel, bad for the region, bad for the citizens of Iran,” Lapid told reporters in Jerusalem.
According to regional officials, under the current deal being discussed Iran would give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz in exchange for ending a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and the lifting of sanctions against Iran. Key details on Iran’s nuclear program would then be negotiated during a 60-day period. It is unclear if the deal will address Iran’s missiles or support for regional militant groups.
Lapid expressed gratitude to Trump for launching the war with Israel, but criticized Netanyahu for allowing Washington to negotiate a potential deal with little coordination with Israel. “The Israeli government is at an all-time low in its ability to influence decisions in Washington,” he said, noting that Trump said last week that, “Netanyahu will do whatever I want him to do.” Lapid added, “Israel is a sovereign state, we are not a vassal state and we are not a protectorate.”
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