US president urges Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar to normalize ties with Israel; Saudi source says not without ‘irreversible pathway’ to Palestinian state

US President Donald Trump arrives at the White House , May 22, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

US President Donald Trump arrives at the White House , May 22, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

US President Donald Trump insisted on Monday that six Muslim-majority countries join the Abraham Accords normalization agreements with Israel ahead of any deal between the US and Iran to end the war, negotiations on which he said were “proceeding nicely.”

The remarks were the second time in as many days that Trump tried to link the emerging deal with Iran to the accords, which were first signed in September 2020 by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, followed by Morocco and Sudan months later.

“Negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran are proceeding nicely! It will only be a Great Deal for all or, no Deal at all,” Trump announced on Truth Social on Monday, reiterating his oft-uttered threat that if no deal is reached, it will mean “Back to the Battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before.”

He said that during discussions with leaders of Muslim and Arab states, he told them 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.”

He specified that the countries he wished to see sign onto the accords included Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan. He said he also spoke to the UAE and Bahrain about this possibility.

It was not clear why Egypt and Jordan would be required to sign the Abraham Accords, given that both have had peace treaties with Israel since 1979 and 1994, respectively. Turkey and Israel have had rocky relations almost since the founding of the State of Israel, with long periods of amicable ties, although those have nosedived in the past decade.

From left, Bahrain Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US president Donald Trump, and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, sit during the Abraham Accords signing ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, in Washington, September 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

After the US leader’s comments, a Saudi source told international outlets that Riyadh will only normalize relations with Israel if an “irreversible pathway” to Palestinian statehood is established.

The Trump administration has long viewed Saudi-Israeli normalization as the crown jewel of the Abraham Accords, though efforts toward that end largely stalled during Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Riyadh has since repeatedly insisted that such an agreement must follow meaningful movement on the Palestinian issue.

Trump’s request for the Muslim and Arab states to join the Abraham Accords was first reported by Axios on Sunday.

The US president did not mention Israel in Monday’s lengthy post, and it was not immediately clear whether he was envisioning traditional accession to the Abraham Accords — which were brokered during his first term — or envisioning the creation of a political framework built around broader aims.

He said the expansion of the accords “should start with the immediate signing by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and everybody else should follow suit.”

If countries do not sign, he said, they should not be involved in any deal with Iran as “it shows bad intention.”

“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,” he added.

US President Donald Trump stands with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on his visit to the White House, in Washington, November 18, 2025. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

Pakistan has said it will not recognize Israel until the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. Qatar, too, has no formal ties with Israel, although Doha is a key US ally and was a central mediator in negotiations between Israel and Hamas throughout the two-year Gaza war, sparked by the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

Axios, citing a US official, said the leaders of the countries Trump spoke to reacted to his normalization request with silence.

“There was silence on the line and Trump joked and asked if they are still there,” one of the officials was quoted as saying.

Apparently undeterred, the US president further claimed in his Truth Social post that “numerous” of the leaders he spoke to “would be honored,” as soon as a deal with Tehran is signed, “to have the Islamic Republic of Iran as part of the Abraham Accords.”

Trump suggested on Sunday that Iran, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction, could “perhaps” join the agreements after a deal is reached.

“The Abraham Accords have proven to be, for the Countries involved (The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, and Kazakhstan), a Financial, Economic, and Social BOOM, even during this time of Conflict and War, with the current Members never even suggesting leaving, or taking so much as even a pause,” he continued.

Suggesting that he was indeed envisioning a vastly expanded Abraham Accords framework over simply establishing ties between Israel and its neighbors, Trump declared that “nothing in the past, or in the future, will surpass” it.

“Therefore, I am mandatorily requesting that all Countries immediately sign the Abraham Accords, and that, if Iran signs its Agreement with me, as President of the United States of America, it would be an Honor to have them also be part of this unparalleled World Coalition,” wrote the president.

Such a coalition, he said, would ensure the Middle East becomes “United, Powerful, and Economically Strong, like perhaps no other area, anywhere in the World!”

He added that he had asked his representatives — reportedly Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — to immediately “begin, and successfully complete, the process of signing these Countries into the already Historic Abraham Accords.”

Trump’s post suggested that he was seeking to offer Israel an upside in the nascent deal to end the war with Iran, whose reported terms have set off alarm bells in Jerusalem. Channel 12 reported on Sunday that senior Israeli officials have warned that, “As it seems, [the agreement] does not serve Israel’s interest.” Other officials have been quoted as calling it a bad deal and highly problematic for Israel.

Israeli officials are concerned that the deal, which would reportedly begin with a 60-day extension of the ceasefire, does not address Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs or its support for regional proxies, delaying negotiations on these and other key war goals. According to the report, officials fear the deal would grant Iran time for economic and military recovery, after which “it will be hard for the Americans and us to go back and fight.”


Russia, China, Turkey, and Pakistan are reportedly being discussed as possible transfer destinations.

By World Israel News Staff

A proposed “face-saving” deal regarding Iran’s stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium could allow both the United States and Iran to claim victory, with Tehran potentially transferring the material to countries such as Russia, China, Turkey, or Pakistan before it is eventually handed over to the U.S., according to a new report.

A source with direct knowledge of the discussions told the New York Post that Iran is currently weighing a proposal that would require it to surrender its estimated 1,000 pounds of enriched nuclear material, though not directly to the United States.

“We are trying to land on language that allows both sides to save face, and that’s how deals like this are done,” the source told the Post.

;“The president would still ideally like it to eventually wind up with the United States, but there are interim options being discussed as well. [And] they could turn into permanent options,” the source added.

Another option reportedly under discussion would see Iran significantly dilute the uranium so that it could no longer be used to produce a nuclear weapon.

  Inside the Trump administration’s proposed nuclear deal

Under that arrangement, Iran would be permitted to retain the material inside the country. According to the source, Iran’s nuclear facilities were so heavily damaged during Operation Epic Fury that Tehran would not be able to secretly re-enrich the uranium to weapons-grade levels in the foreseeable future.

The source said details regarding that possible arrangement would likely be addressed after the signing of an initial extended ceasefire agreement that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The dilution of enriched uranium is “one of the things that is going to be worked out in the second track,” the source told the Post.

;“I don’t think they want to hand it over — [and] the biggest thing is they don’t want to hand it over to the United States directly.”

Shortly after the Post published the official’s comments, Trump appeared to confirm key elements of the report in a post on his Truth Social account.

“The Enriched Uranium (Nuclear Dust!) will either be immediately turned over to the United States to be brought home and destroyed or, preferably, in conjunction and coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, destroyed in place or, at another acceptable location, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent, being witness to this process and event,” Trump wrote.

  Rubio: Epic Fury is over; Tehran’s nuclear shield has been destroyed


By Agencies and ToI StaffToday, 10:32 am
    Iranian army soldiers stand in front of a picture of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during a pro-regime rally in Tehran, Iran, on April 29, 2026. (AFP) Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei says on his Telegram channel that Gulf powers will no longer be a shield for United States bases and the US will no longer have a safe haven in the region, as Tehran and Washington discuss a framework to end their three-month-old war. Several US bases in the Middle East were attacked by Iran during the war. His statement comes hours after US forces attacked missile sites in southern Iran and boats trying to lay mines. The strikes threatened an already fragile ceasefire that began April 8 as the United States and Iran struggle to reach an accord to end a war that has rattled the global economy with a severe disruption of energy flows. Washington and Tehran have played down hopes for an imminent breakthrough.