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0 NewsGhana, Latest Updates and Breaking News of Ghana, News Ghana, https://www.newsghana.com.gh/trump-demands-muslim-nations-join-abraham-accords-now/US President Donald Trump on Monday demanded six Muslim-majority nations simultaneously join the Abraham Accords, linking the push to normalize relations with Israel directly to his effort to close a deal ending the war with Iran.
Trump said he spoke on Saturday with leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan, as well as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain, which have already signed the Accords. A US official told Axios that leaders on the call, especially those of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan, appeared stunned by the demand, with silence falling on the line before Trump moved on.
Pakistan was the only country to respond publicly, and it said no. “Pakistan is under no compulsion to adhere to any such demand,” a Pakistani source familiar with the matter said. The source also pushed back on Trump’s framing, saying the Iran ceasefire process and the Abraham Accords were separate issues that could not be made contingent on each other.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan do not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel. Egypt normalized ties with Israel in 1979 and Jordan followed through a 1994 peace treaty. Turkey was the first Muslim-majority country to formally recognise Israel, in 1949, though bilateral trade has been suspended since Israel’s offensive in Gaza began.
The kingdom’s longstanding position has been that it would not sign the Accords unless there is a clear agreement on a roadmap to Palestinian statehood. For Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and custodian of the two holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, the step carries religious and political weight that goes far beyond diplomacy.
Netanyahu was reportedly not part of the Saturday call, and his office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Trump’s post.
Senator Lindsey Graham backed the proposal, describing it as a path to regional integration and economic opportunity. Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, was sharply critical, arguing Trump was packaging a fragile Iran agreement as a regional transformation deal that the underlying conditions could not yet support.
Trump has long hoped Saudi Arabia would join the Accords but the kingdom has maintained that any normalization deal requires first establishing a clear path for Palestinian statehood. The UAE and Bahrain became the first Arab states to recognise Israel in a quarter century when they signed during Trump’s first term in 2020. Morocco and Sudan followed, though Sudan’s participation has since stalled due to internal political unrest.
Trump said Iran negotiations were proceeding well but gave no indication a deal was close.
NewsGhana, Latest Updates and Breaking News of Ghana, News Ghana, https://www.newsghana.com.gh/trump-demands-muslim-nations-join-abraham-accords-now/
