Washington: US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries should normalize ties with Israel as part of efforts to reach a deal with Iran, adding new uncertainty to protracted peace negotiations.
Progress on a deal to end the conflict that erupted in late February has slowed as both sides discussed the possibility of an imminent deal, with Tehran saying they were not close to signing and Trump warning he was in no rush.
In another obstacle to any deal, the US leader said it should be mandatory for Qatar, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey and Jordan to sign the Abraham Accords, a set of agreements brokered in 2020 with nations historically hostile to Israel.
“After all the work done by the United States in trying to piece together this very complex puzzle, it should be mandatory for all these countries, at least, simultaneously, to sign the Abraham accord,” he wrote in a lengthy post on social media.
“Those countries discussed are Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (already a member!), Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain (already a member!)”.
Trump said he had spoken with the leaders of those countries on Saturday about efforts to end the war with Iran. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have already signed the agreements, along with Morocco and Sudan.
US and Iranian forces have been observing a ceasefire since April 8 as diplomats push for a negotiated settlement, although Iran has maintained controls on Gulf shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the US Navy has sought to blockade Iranian ports.
Trump said earlier Monday that a deal with Iran would either be “big and significant” or “there would be no deal.”
The issue is fraught as countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar have said they will never normalize ties with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is established.
Anna Jacobs of the Arab Institute of the Gulf States in Washington said Trump’s latest request added to the disaster that has been the war on all fronts for the Gulf countries.
“The national security of the Gulf states is threatened more than ever before because of President Trump’s reckless decisions, and he expects the Arab states to thank him and normalize relations with Israel, which they will not do at this stage,” she said.
“These expectations and assumptions by this US administration show how little they understand the Middle East.”
‘going crazy’
Trump’s maximalist demand came after top US diplomat Marco Rubio suggested a deal could be reached within the day, sending world oil prices tumbling on renewed optimism for a deal.
“We thought we might have some news last night, maybe today,” Secretary of State Rubio told reporters during a visit to New Delhi, referring to hopes for a deal.
“We have what I think is a pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open the straits, to open the straits.”
But Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei poured cold water on hopes of a quick final solution.
“It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large part of the issues under discussion,” he told a weekly news conference.
“But to say that this means that the signing of an agreement is imminent – no one can make such a claim.”
In Iran’s capital, Tehran, residents who spoke to Paris-based reporters said they were growing impatient with the lack of diplomatic progress.
“We are going crazy. Imagine hoping ten times a day and being disappointed a hundred times a day,” said Amir, 40.
“We are all frustrated.”
‘Critical moment’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he and Trump had agreed that “any final deal with Iran must completely eliminate the nuclear threat.”
Iranian officials have stressed that, despite long-standing US demands to end uranium enrichment, talks on the issue of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program have been postponed until after an initial agreement.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif – whose government is leading efforts to broker a negotiated deal between the United States and Iran – met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
Speaking to Chinese leaders, Sharif said “the world is passing through a critical moment,” Pakistan’s state-run PTV channel reported.
“Things are moving in the right direction. I would like to thank China’s support to promote peace.”
