Donald Trump has urged Iran and the leaders of several Arab and Muslim countries to normalise relations with Israel as part of a peace deal with Tehran.
The US President has held phone calls with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan, encouraging them to join the Abraham Accords, a 2020 agreement that establishes diplomacy between Israel and Arab states.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the countries should join the accords once a deal to end the war had been reached. He also called for Iran to join the pact he brokered in his first term, despite its ongoing hostilities with Israel.
Trump said it “should be mandatory” for the countries to join the pact as part of ongoing negotiations with Iran, which Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, said could be completed soon.
Yet hours later, Iran played down the prospect of an imminent final settlement.
Esmail Baghaei, the Iranian foreign ministry’s spokesman, said: “It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion. But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent – no one can make such a claim.”
However, Trump maintained that negotiations were “proceeding nicely”, promising “a great deal or no deal at all – back to the battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before”.
Referring to the Arab countries not yet part of the agreement, he wrote: “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 on to the Abraham Accords.”
He added: “It may be possible that one or two have a reason for not doing so, and that will be accepted, but most should be ready, willing, and able to make this Settlement with Iran a far more Historic Event than it would, otherwise, be.”
Trump urged Qatar and Saudi Arabia to join first in the belief others would follow suit.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed in 2020, breaking a longstanding taboo to become the first Arab states to recognise Israel in a quarter of a century. Morocco and Sudan followed suit.
Trump said: “In speaking to numerous of the Great Leaders mentioned above, they would be honoured, as soon as our Document is signed, to have the Islamic Republic of Iran as part of the Abraham Accords. Wow, now that would be something special!”
It had earlier been reported that Trump’s request was met with silence during the phone calls.
The leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan do not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, and were reported to be surprised by Trump’s suggestion.
“There was silence on the line, and Trump joked and asked if they are still there,” a US official with knowledge of the call said.
Trump had earlier said he had urged his negotiators “not to rush into a deal, in that time is on our side”. He said any deal would “either be a great and meaningful one, or there will be no deal”.
Rubio told reporters during a trip to New Delhi: “We have what I think is a pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the [Strait of Hormuz], get the straits open.
“It has a lot of support in the Gulf ... every country that we’ve walked through it [with] understands it’s not just very reasonable, but it’s the right thing for the world to get done.”
World oil prices fell following renewed optimism that Washington and Tehran would reach an agreement.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s most senior negotiator, and Abbas Araghchi, its foreign minister, are in Doha for talks with Qatar on the peace deal. The discussions have been focused primarily on the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, a source said.
Officials have said the US and Iran have agreed in principle to a deal that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and involve Tehran surrendering its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
However, while the broad framework had been decided, final sign-off was still needed from Trump and Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader.
The potential memorandum of understanding contains 14 points that give both sides another 60 days to sign a final deal and negotiate an end to Iran’s nuclear programme.
Nuclear talks in the coming weeks or months will focus on how to dispose of the stockpile and address Iran’s enrichment programme, with the US pushing for a 20-year moratorium. Iran has proposed a much shorter pause.
The two main sticking points appear to be over the timing of the release of Iran’s frozen assets and the conflict between Israel and Lebanon. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, wants to retain the right to continue the conflict, which the deal is expected to end. Iran wants its US$25 billion ($42.5b) worth of frozen assets to be released before an agreement is reached on its nuclear programme.
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