The US President made the appeal during a phone call with leaders from several Arab and Islamic countries on Saturday
NEW DELHI — US President Donald Trump has urged Arab leaders to sign peace agreements with Israel and normalise relations with the country once a deal to end the Iran war is reached.
According to Axios, a US-based news outlet, Trump made the appeal during a phone call with leaders from several Arab and Islamic countries on Saturday.
The report, citing two senior US officials, said Trump told the leaders he expects their countries to move towards formal ties with Israel once the war ends and regional tensions ease.
The move appears to be part of an effort to leverage the Iran conflict to expand diplomatic normalisation with Israel under a broader regional framework similar to the Abraham Accords.
The teleconference included top leadership from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan and Bahrain.
Trump also indicated he would speak next with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and expressed hope that Israel’s leadership could soon join such discussions in a broader format.
In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump said: “I would like to thank, thus far, all of the countries of the Middle East for their support and cooperation, which will be further enhanced and strengthened by their joining the nations of the historic Abraham Accords.”
He also floated the idea of Iran joining the accords in the future — a move that would require Tehran to recognise Israel, something it has consistently refused to do. The current Iranian leadership considers Israel an adversary and has long opposed its existence.
According to Axios, Trump also pressed countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel to establish them. Among those on the call, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan fall into this category.
In 2020, a US-brokered initiative led to the normalisation of relations between Israel and several Arab states, including the UAE and Bahrain.
However, Washington and Israel have sought, without success, to expand the framework to include more Muslim-majority countries, especially Saudi Arabia, which is an influential Arab state both politically and religiously. — Agencies
